CHILDREN 
OF  EGYPT 


PRINCETON,  N.  J.  l4ff 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


Division 
Section 


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(M5 


CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


EGYPT'S  PLEA 


"  From  Egypt's  land  of  beauty  there  echoes  o'er  the  sea 
The  children's  cry  for  succour,  a  simple  earnest  plea, 
And  little  arms  out-stretching,  their  heartfelt  longings  prove. 
Help  !  help  !  the  Moslem  children  to  find  a  God  of  love. 

Our  mud-built  homes  are  pleasant,  our  country  fair  and  bright, 
The  tamarisk  and  palm  trees  our  playful  hours  delight  ; 
But  there  are  days  of  sickness,  when  death  may  hover  near, 
And  then  how  great  the  darkness,  how  terrible  the  fear ! 

Millions  these  sad  words  utter  in  hopelessness  and  pain, 
Lambs  of  the  kind  Good  Shepherd  who  seek  for  Him  in  vain. 
Which  of  you  who  have  found  Him  will  go  His  lost  to  meet, 
Or  send  the  Gospel  message  to  guide  their  erring  feet  ? 

Oh  !  happy  English  children,  your  homes  are  fair  and  bright, 
But  with  the  beauteous  sunshine  of  holy  heavenly  light ; 
Sickness  but  brings  you  nearer  to  Christ,  the  children's  friend, 
And  death  is  but  the  dawning  of  life  that  has  no  end  ! 

Then  to  the  shores  of  Egypt  send  back  across  the  sea 
The  wondrous  Gospel  story,  so  sweet,  so  full,  so  free  ; 
Come  Islam's  sons  and  daughters,  the  Saviour's  longing  prove 
To  gather  Moslem  children  within  His  arms  of  Love." 

F.  J.  Wright  ("  Gretchen.") 


P.S.— I  have  received  full  permission  from  the  Author  to  use  these  verses. 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  , 

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in  2015 

https://archive.org/details/childrenofegyptOOcrow 


CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK    CHICAGO  TORONTO 


DEDICATED  TO 

CAMPBELL,  WILLIAM,  VIOLET,  MARGERY 
AND  LITTLE  STELLA 


rURXBULL  AND  SPEARS,  PRINTERS,  EDINBURGH 


INTRODUCTION 


My  dear  Boys  and  Girls, 

It  has  sometimes  been  to  me  an 
amazing  discovery  to  find  out  how  little  is  known  by 
children,  and  even  grown  up  people,  about  the  wonder- 
ful Land  of  Egypt.  So  I  thought  it  would  be  well  to 
tell  you  a  little  about  the  land,  its  size,  and  the  people 
generally  who  inhabit  it  now,  and  also  to  tell  you  a  little 
about  the  thoughts  and  ideas  of  the  ancient  Egyptians. 

There  is  a  proverb  in  Arabic  which  says,  "  Take 
the  secrets  of  the  Elders  from  their  children." 

How  I  wish  it  were  possible  for  the  wishing  carpet 
suddenly  to  convey  children  of  the  West  over  to  the 
land  of  Egypt  and  set  them  down  among  the  dear  little 
black  and  brown  people  who  cross  my  path  daily,  and 
who  by  their  great  need  for  a  knowledge  of  the 
Saviour  who  died  for  them,  draw  forth  from  one's 
heart  the  true  love  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  when 
on  Earth  said :  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto 
Me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven." 

L.  C. 


5 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction  ....  5 

I  The  Land  of  Egypt  ...  9 

II  Ancient  Literature  of  Egypt      .  .  11 

III  The  Story  of  a  Righteous  Life    .         .  15 

IV  The  Story  of  the  Nile      .         .  .18 
V  Topsy-Turvy  Customs         .         .  .21 

VI  Childlife  in  a  Mohammedan  Land  .  .  24 

VII  Mohammedan  Childhood  (continued)  .  26 

VIII  Superstitions  .  .  .  .31 

IX  The  Old  and  the  New       .  .  -37 

X  A  Camel  Ride         .  .  .  .40 

XI  A  Day's  Shopping     .  .  .  .46 

XII  Visit  to  an  Egyptian  Village       .  .  51 

XIII  An  Egyptian  Sunday  School         .  .  57 

XIV  The  Christmas  Tree  .         .  .62 

XV  The  Story  of  Three  Sisters         .         .  67 

XVI  Story  of  an  Egyptian  Dog  whose  Master 

was  a  Prisoner    .         .         .  .70 

XVII  The  Betrothal  of  "  Heavenly  Gift  "      .  77 

XVIII  A  Visit  to  Wonderland      .         .  83 

XIX  Notes  by  the  Way  .         .         .  .90 


7 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


I. 

"Tell  me,  0  Sphinx,  your  Story" 

Frontispiece 

PAGE 

2. 

History  written  on  the  Walls  of 

Temples  .  12 

3- 

The  Night  of  the  Cutting  of  the 

Dyke      .  20 

4- 

The  Sacred  Tree 

32 

5- 

The  Mission  Playground 

.  56 

6. 

The  Master  and  his  Dog 

72 

7- 

B.'shareen  Girl  . 

80 

8. 

Little  Boats  with  Stately  Sails 

90 

8 


CHILDREN   OF  EGYPT 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  LAND  OF  EGYPT 

Egypt  is  one  of  the  Bible  Lands.  It  is  also  known 
as  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs,  the  land  of  the 
Pyramids,  or  the  Nile  Valley.  In  Arabic  it  is  called 
"  Misr,"  probably  after  the  man  mentioned  in  Genesis 
x.  6.  Egypt  was  the  home  of  many  of  the  patriarchs 
whom  we  love  so  well :— Moses,  whose  wonderful  birth 
and  deliverance  took  place  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile, 
and  whom  the  Mohammedans  call  "  the  mouthpiece 
of  God,"  Aaron,  his  brother,  and  Joseph  whose  story 
is  so  familiar  to  us  all. 

Egypt,  the  land  of  bondage, — and  yet  concerning 
which  so  many  glorious  and  precious  promises  are 
given ! 

It  was  Egypt  which  was  honoured  in  being  allowed 
to  give  shelter  to  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem. 

Egypt  is  situated  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
Continent  of  Africa.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
the  Mediterranean  Sea ;  on  the  south  by  the  Anglo- 
Egyptian  Soudan  ;  on  the  east  by  the  Red  Sea  and  the 
Peninsula  of  Sinai ;  and  on  the  west  by  Tripoli  and 
the  great  Sahara  Desert. 

The  total  area  of  Egypt  is  about  four  hundred 
thousand  square  miles,  a  little  more  than  three  times 
the  area  of  the  British  Isles.  It  is  almost  a  rainless 
country. 

i 


10  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


The  total  population  of  Egypt  is  about  twelve 
million.  Of  these  about  nine  million  six  hundred 
thousand  are  natives  of  the  country,  and  the  re- 
mainder foreigners.  About  two-thirds  of  the  people 
are  engaged  in  agriculture  and  are  known  as  the 
"  Fellaheen." 

The  native  Christians  of  the  country  are  called 
Copts,  and  they  are  the  true  descendants  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians.  They  number  about  six  hundred 
thousand.  The  Copts  were  converted  to  Christianity 
by  St  Mark  about  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty  years  ago. 

Egypt  has  undergone  successive  invasions.  Hyksos 
or  shepherd  kings,  Ethiopians,  Assyrians,  Persians, 
Greeks,  Romans,  Arabs  and  Turks  have  all  in  their 
turn  ruled  Egypt.  It  might  therefore  be  expected 
that  Egypt  would  become  a  mixed  race,  but  the 
very  opposite  is  the  fact.  The  Egyptian  of  to-day 
is  little  removed,  either  in  type  or  general  charac- 
teristics, from  his  earliest  ancestors  who  occupied  the 
Nile  valley  many  thousands  of  years  ago,  at  the 
very  dawn  of  history. 

Berbers  have  come  down  from  the  barren  and 
narrow  valley  of  Nubia  to  hire  themselves  out  as 
servants,  cooks,  and  doorkeepers.  There  is  scarcely 
a  house  in  Cairo  to  be  seen  without  a  bench  outside 
and  a  Berber  sitting  upon  it. 

There  are  also  the  Orientals  of  the  neighbouring 
countries  ; — Turks,  Syrians,  Armenians  and  Algerians. 
The  dialect  of  Upper  Egypt  is  held  in  contempt  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Delta. 

There  are  three  types  of  Egyptians,  the  Fellaheen 
or  peasants,  who  stand  at  the  bottom  of  the  social 
scale,  both  materially  and  intellectually  ;  the  towns- 
people engaged  in  trade  or  industry,  and  considered 


ANCIENT  LITERATURE  OF  EGYPT  11 


above  the  Fellah  both  in  wealth  and  intelligence  ;  and 
the  Pashas  and  Beys,  who  are  considered  the  aristo- 
cracy of  Egypt. 


CHAPTER  II 

ANCIENT  LITERATURE  OF  EGYPT 

It  is  a  wonderful  thing  to  trace  the  history  of  litera- 
ture, which  is  the  written  idea  or  thought  of  a  nation 
or  people. 

Perhaps  of  all  literature  that  of  Egypt  is  the  most 
ancient.  It  is  also  very  much  mixed  up  with  surmise. 
The  hieroglyphic  writing  was  the  first  practised 
by  the  ancient  Egyptians — in  which  the  figures  of 
objects  are  employed  to  represent  ideas  or  letters. 

The  word  hieroglyphic  is  taken  from  the  words 
meaning  "  sacred"  and  "  writing,"  and  when  the  nation 
began  to  reduce  its  thoughts  to  writing,  or  to  express 
its  thoughts  by  signs,  the  people  began  by  using 
hieroglyphics. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  writing  in  early  ./Egyptian 
literature,  which  have  been  preserved  and  handed 
down  to  us.  The  first,  the  picture  language  called 
hieroglyphic,  the  second,  demotic,  which  was  the 
common  language  of  the  people,  and  the  third  hieratic, 
the  sacred  or  priests'  language. 

The  meaning  of  hieroglyphics  has  only  been  re- 
discovered in  our  own  day.  It  came  into  use  about 
three  thousand  seven  hundred  years  before  Christ,  in 
the  time  of  the  first  dynasty. 

To  begin  with,  the  signs  represented  the  things 
pictured,  but  gradually  came  to  denote  phonetic 
sounds.    Champollion  has  done  much  to  enlighten 


12  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


us  upon  the  subject.  He  became  a  great  student  of 
Egyptology  in  the  year  1818. 

In  the  year  1799  Boussard,  a  French  officer,  while 
digging  the  foundations  of  his  house  at  Rosetta,  in 
the  Nile  Delta,  turned  up  a  black  stone  covered  with 
three  kinds  of  writing,  viz.  :  hieroglyphic,  demotic, 
and  Greek.  Impressions  of  the  stone  were  taken  and 
handed  over  to  many  earnest  students,  who  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  had  been  written  in  the  time 
of  the  Greek  Empire.  Champollion  found  the  key 
to  the  deciphering  of  this  stone,  which  is  now  re- 
posing in  the  British  Museum.  The  whole  of  the 
literature  of  Egypt  was  a  closed  door  to  learned  men 
until  his  time,  and  it  was  through  this  means  that 
the  alphabet  was  eventually  found,  and  the  door 
opened  to  the  study  of  the  inscriptions  which  cover 
the  walls  of  the  temples  and  tombs  from  end  to  end 
of  Egypt.  It  is  most  important  to  remember  that 
early  literature  consists  mainly  of  religious  writings. 
A  great  deal  of  the  Egyptian  literature  which  has 
come  down  to  us  deals  to  a  large  extent  with  the 
rules  and  regulations  concerning  the  religious  life  of 
the  ancient  people,  and  of  their  ceremonies  for  their 
dead.  History  also  finds  a  place,  although  there  is  no 
thread  of  continuity,  but  every  man  seems  to  have 
proclaimed  his  great  deeds  on  a  stone  slab  or  tablet 
as  the  fancy  seized  him.  The  great  prize  essay  written 
by  Pentaur  on  the  deeds  of  Rameses  the  second,  a 
man  who  seems  to  have  conquered  all  that  came 
before  him,  was  inscribed  on  the  walls  of  temples, 
and  a  copy  is  at  the  present  time  in  the  British 
Museum.  Many  of  these  ancient  Egyptians  seemed 
to  have  possessed  a  great  opinion  of  themselves, 
judging  from  the  amount  of  self -laudation  in  their 
compositions. 


ANCIENT  LITERATURE  OF  EGYPT  13 


The  kings  in  those  days  were  addressed  as  gods. 
The  larger  number  of  inscriptions  were  ratten  in 
the  hieroglyphic  characters. 

The  business  of  life  has  been  drawn  for  us  in  pictures, 
many  of  which  are  to  be  seen  now,  also  representations 
of  all  kinds  of  agricultural  labour.  On  the  walls  of 
the  tomb  of  Thy  you  can  read  the  journal  of  a  great 
man  who  lived  over  five  thousand  years  ago.  We  see 
how  his  cattle  were  killed,  how  his  meat  was  cooked, 
and  his  geese  fattened,  how  his  fields  were  ploughed, 
his  corn  grown,  reaped,  threshed  and  gleaned,  how 
his  houses  were  built,  how  he  fished  and  hunted,  and 
how  he  fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  daily  life. 

There  was  in  the  literature  of  Egypt  a  great  deal 
which  concerned  the  life  after  death.  It  was  not  a 
strange  line  of  thought  when  we  remember  how 
thoughtful  the  Egyptians  were  with  regard  to  im- 
mortality. Their  term  for  the  grave  was  "  the  ever- 
lasting house."  When  a  man  died  his  soul  was 
supposed  to  pass  into  Hades,  to  wander  through  the 
spirit  land  and  come  in  contact  with  all  kinds  of 
danger.  The  heart  seems  to  have  been  the  particular 
member  which  suffered,  and,  even  in  prehistoric  times, 
was  always  provided  with  its  own  special  god,  and 
to  charm  away  all  evil  spirits  the  souls  were  provided 
with  quotations  from  the  Book  of  the  Dead. 

Every  Egyptian  wished  to  lay  by  a  goodly  store 
of  charms  to  help  him  through  the  nether  world. 
On  their  arrival  there,  the  souls  had  to  be  judged  by 
Osiris  the  judge  of  the  dead,  and  were  supposed  to  be 
weighed  in  the  scales  in  his  judgment  hall,  after  which 
each  soul  was  required  to  make  a  denial  of  forty-two 
sins  put  before  it.  The  one  great  theme  of  their 
religion  was  a  return  to  God. 

One  cannot,  however,  speak  highly  of  Egyptian 


14  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


morality,  although  they  were  a  people  so  deeply  filled 
with  the  thought  of  the  hereafter  !  Their  religion 
must  have  had  a  pretence  to  righteousness,  but  how 
far  it  progressed  we  are  not  in  a  position  to  say. 
There  was  certainly  nothing  heroic  about  it,  no  severe 
self  denial,  no  strong  check  upon  the  human  passions, 
no  humility,  no  forgiveness  for  injuries  inflicted,  no 
belief  that  all  things  worked  together  for  good,  but  of 
course  they  had  not  the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

In  the  beginning  there  was  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  God,  and  the  question  presents  itself  to  our 
minds — How  came  they  to  have  these  mixed  ideas  ? 
First,  we  must  know  they  had  no  record,  no  revela- 
tion. They  were  left  to  tradition.  They  had  no  guide, 
and  they  themselves  had  lost  their  land  mark.  Yet 
the  religious  feeling  was  maintained.  They  had  lost 
the  true  knowledge,  and  came  to  a  worship  of  the 
elements,  the  things  which  God  had  given  them. 

The  sun  god,  Ra,  was  held  in  great  esteem,  as  was 
also  the  cow,  Hat-hor,  who  was  called  the  goddess  of  the 
mountains,  and  was  the  instrument  in  supplying  rain. 
One  of  the  most  interesting  things  to  be  seen  in  the 
Egyptian  Museum  is  the  statue  of  the  cow,  Hat-hor, 
which  was  discovered  buried  in  a  little  shrine  all  to 
itself. 

It  was  against  these  numerous  deities  that  the 
anger  of  God  was  directed  when  He  scourged  Egypt 
with  the  ten  plagues.  For  instance,  the  Nile  was 
worshipped  as  the  great  water  god,  "  Hapi,"  re- 
presented with  a  frog  in  his  left  hand.  The  divinity 
Nile  or  "  Hapi  "  was  in  this  first  plague  disgraced,  and 
turned  into  an  object  of  horror.  Other  divinities 
were  also  involved  in  the  humiliation.  Several  kinds 
of  fish  in  the  Nile  were  considered  sacred,  these  too 
were  smitten.    The  frogs,  emblems  of  fertility  and 


THE  STORY  OF  A  RIGHTEOUS  LIFE  15 


productiveness,  came  from  the  divinity  Nile.  By 
this  plague  the  Egyptian  goddess,  "  Heka,"  was 
discredited.  She  had  the  head  of  a  frog ;  con- 
sequently the  frogs  were  sacred  animals  and  might 
not  be  killed. 

Beetles  were  regarded  as  emblems  of  the  sun  god, 
"  Kheper"  (represented  with  a  beetle  for  his  head), 
and  were  therefore  sacred.  The  Scarabaeus,  or  figure 
of  the  beetle,  was  worn  by  the  Egyptians  as  an 
amulet  or  charm,  and  was  carved  on  the  tombs,  etc., 
being  looked  upon  as  the  emblem  of  immortality, 
eternity  and  resurrection. 

There  was  a  temple  at  Memphis  to  the  sacred  bull, 
Apis — and  cows,  certainly  all  white  cows,  were  sacred 
to  the  goddess  Isis.  So  you  see  animal  worship 
received  a  severe  shock,  at  the  time  when  Pharaoh 
hardened  his  heart  and  would  not  let  the  children 
of  Israel  go. 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  STORY  OF  A  RIGHTEOUS  LIFE 

Apart  from  the  Valley  of  the  Nile  and  the  Delta,  the 
greater  part  of  Egypt  is  nothing  but  desert  where 
no  one  can  live,  but  here  and  there  ooze  up  springs 
of  water  through  the  parched  earth,  called  Oases, 
and  around  them  grow  little  patches  of  green  trees  and 
bushes.  These  spots  are  like  the  shadow  of  a  rock  in 
a  weary  land  to  the  merchant,  who  has  often  to  make 
long  journeys  across  the  desert. 

The  merchant  can  never  travel  without  his  camel, 
as  the  distance  between  the  Oases  is  very  long,  and 
"  the  father  of  the  hump  "  as  the  camel  is  sometimes 
called  in  desert  language,  can  drink  enough  water 


16  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


to  last  for  several  days,  and  so  it  is  able  to  carry  its 
master  safely  over  long  tracts  of  sand. 

One  day  a  tired,  weary  pilgrim,  who  had  made  a 
long  journey  over  the  desert,  stood  before  the  empty 
tomb  of  his  ancestors,  and  this  is  what  he  read  : — 

"  I  have  committed  no  fraud  against  any  man.  I 
have  not  tormented  the  widow.    I  have  not  spoken 
falsely  in  the  tribunal  nor  do  I  know  ill  faith.    I  have 
done  no  forbidden  thing.    I  have  not  exacted  of  the 
taskmaster  more  work  than  he  could  do  daily.    I  have 
not  been  neglectful.    I  have  not  been  idle.    I  have  not 
refused  my  debts,  nor  have  I  wearied  in  well-doing. 
I  have  not  done  that  which  is  an  abomination  to  the 
gods.    I  have  not  slandered  the  slave  to  his  master. 
I  have  starved  none.    I  have  made  none  to  weep.  I 
have  slain  none,  nor  have  I  commanded  to  murder 
by  treachery.    I  have  not  stolen  the  temple  bread,  I 
have  not  seized  the  cakes  offered  to  the  gods.    I  have 
not  taken  the  food  or  fillets  of  the  dead.    I  have  not 
gained  money  by  fraud.    I  have  not  changed  the 
measure  of  corn.    I  have  not  defrauded  the  breadth 
of  a  finger  on  the  hand,  I  have  not  seized  land.  I 
have  not  changed  the  plates  of  the  balance.    I  have 
not  falsified  the  balance.    I  have  not  taken  the  milk 
from  the  mouths  of  sucklings.    I  have  not  hunted  the 
sacred  animals  in  their  pasture.    I  have  not  taken 
the  divine  birds  in  their  net.    I  have  not  fished  for  the 
sacred  fish  in  their  ponds.    I  have  not  kept  the  water 
back  in  its  season.    I  have  not  cut  a  branch  of  water 
in  its  passage.    I  have  not  quenched  the  sacred  fire 
at  its  hour.    I  have  not  driven  the  sacred  oxen  from 
their  pasture.    I  have  not  turned  aside  the  god  in  his 
procession.    I  am  pure,  I  am  pure,  I  am  pure,  I  am 
pure."    Such  must  have  been  the  ideas  of  those  who 
lived  in  those  bygone  days  : — No  sense  of  his  own  need, 


THE  STORY  OF  A  RIGHTEOUS  LIFE  17 


and  no  sense  or  realisation  of  how  he  would  stand  in 
the  eyes  of  a  Holy  God. 

Thirty-eight  capital  I's  in  this  man's  profession. 
How  sad  that  as  a  child  he  knew  nothing  of  Him 
who  said  "  Learn  of  Me,  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  of 
heart."  I  hope  you  or  I  would  have  added,  "  And 
when  ye  have  done  all  these  things,  say,  '  We  are 
unprofitable  servants.'  " 

The  old  pilgrim  pursued  his  journey  pondering  over 
what  he  had  just  read  on  the  tomb  of  his  ancestors, 
and  wondered  how  he  could  so  correctly  have  fulfilled 
all  the  obligations  laid  upon  him.  Poor  old  Servant 
of  the  Merciful  One,  for  that  was  his  name,  was  inclined 
to  think  that  his  ancestor  had  lacked  a  true  knowledge 
of  himself.  At  the  same  time  there  was  a  desire  in 
the  heart  of  the  old  pilgrim  himself  to  be  found  per- 
fect in  the  day  of  judgment  and  worthy  to  live  in 
paradise  for  ever. 

He  had  a  haunting  memory  of  a  sin  committed  long 
years  ago.  How  well  he  remembered  on  a  certain  day, 
during  the  month  of  the  Ramadan  fast,  being  taken 
to  the  judge  who  commanded  him  to  be  beaten  with 
forty  stripes  because  he  had  dared  to  break  his  fast 
before  the  setting  of  the  sun. 

"  Why  have  I  no  rest  yet  from  the  memory  of  my 
sin  ?  "  said  the  old  pilgrim,  as  he  was  borne  silently  over 
the  desert  by  his  faithful  camel  towards  his  home  away 
yonder  nestling  in  the  midst  of  the  shady  palm  grove. 

"  Have  I  not,"  he  went  on,  "  made  many  sacrifices 
and  have  I  not  performed  many  pilgrimages,  have  I  not 
sprinkled  the  blood  of  the  sacrifices  over  the  door- 
posts of  my  house,  and  yet  my  heart  is  still  crying  out 
for  peace,  and  I  cannot  find  it  ?  " 

Poor  old  pilgrim,  he  had  grown  up  without  a  know- 
ledge of  his  inheritance  in  Christ  Jesus.    No  happy 

6 


18  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


memories  had  he  of  his  childhood  days.  No  thoughts 
of  Jesus  to  help  him  on  his  way. 

Have  you  ever  thought  what  it  would  be  like  to 
grow  up  without  a  knowledge  of  the  love  of  God,  and 
without  any  news  of  His  great  salvation — and  with 
no  happy  holy  memories  of  kneeling  at  a  gentle 
mother's  knee  where  you  learned  to  pray  to  your 
Father  in  heaven  ? 

No  wonder  this  aged  pilgrim  sought  in  vain  for  rest 
and  peace.  He  was  in  his  ignorance  trying  to  work 
out  his  own  salvation,  ignorant  all  the  time  that 
acceptance  with  God  was  a  free  gift,  because  he  had 
never  been  told  about  it. 

Children  of  the  West,  will  you  rally  round  the  banner 
of  prayer  and  make  a  resolve  that  you  will  do  all  in 
your  power  to  send  a  knowledge  of  salvation  to  the 
millions  of  little  children  now  growing  up  in  the  midst 
of  a  great  shadowy  cloud  of  sin  and  darkness  in  the  land 
of  Egypt,  so  that  you  may  be  like  ministering  angels 
wTho  are  sent  to  guide  their  feet  into  the  way  of  peace  ? 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  NILE 

"  He  that  hath  not  seen  Egypt  hath  not  seen  the 
greatest  wonder  of  the  wTorld." 

"  Your  Nile  loads  you  with  benefits  and  bounties 
every  day,  it  is  for  you  that  it  flows  from  such  a  distance. 
Alas  !  in  going  away  from  you  my  tears  are  doomed 
to  run  down  as  abundantly  as  its  waters." 

An  old  historian  once  visited  Egypt  and  was  so 
struck  by  the  physical  condition  of  the  country  that 
he  said,  "  Egypt  is  a  gift  from  the  Nile." 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  NILE  19 


This  sentence  fully  explains  the  relation  between  the 
river  and  the  land.  Without  the  Nile,  Egypt  would 
be  desert,  and  so  this  wonderful  river  from  time  im- 
memorial has  been  taken  into  great  consideration  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country.  As  you  already  know, 
the  ancient  Egyptians  looked  upon  it  as  one  of  their 
gods.  No  one  was  allowed  to  throw  into  it  any  unclean 
matter,  even  the  birds  which  ate  the  worms  from  its 
banks — so  keeping  the  river  clean — were  looked  upon 
as  sacred,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  do  them  any  harm. 
Land  taxes  were  taken  only  from  that  part  of  the  land 
which  had  been  covered  by  its  waters  during  the 
innundation.  The  rise  of  the  Nile  differed  year  by 
year,  so  the  taxes  were  modified  accordingly.  It  has 
always  been  the  custom  to  celebrate  the  rise  of  the 
Nile  by  a  feast,  and  the  people  looked  upon  the 
celebration  as  a  time  for  leisure  and  pleasure.  Kings, 
officials,  and  notables  of  all  kinds  migrated  at  this 
particular  time  to  houseboats,  dahabeyahs  and  ships 
decorated  for  the  event. 

Up  and  down  the  river  they  would  go  until  the  Nile 
attained  its  highest  point.  Then  it  is  said  that  a 
beautiful  maiden,  richly  dressed,  was  with  the  consent 
of  her  father  throw  to  the  god  Nile.  This  cruel 
custom  was  abolished  by  an  order  from  the  first 
Christian  Emperor  Constantine. 

During  the  first  Arabic  conquest  the  ceremony 
of  celebrating  the  flood  was  as  follows  : — 

The  director  of  the  Nilometer  at  Rodah,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  measure  the  rise,  had  to  write  a  secret  report ; 
then  the  Caliph,  on  receiving  the  same,  would  set  out 
with  his  Vizier,  both  richly  dressed,  bearing  trays  and 
vases  of  massive  gold  and  silver,  with  a  jar  filled  with 
musk  and  saffron.  On  their  arrival  at  the  Nilometer 
the  jar  was  presented  to  the  said  director,  who  mixed 


20 


CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


the  contents  of  the  jar  on  a  tray,  carefully  anointing 
the  pillar  of  the  gauge. 

During  this  proceeding  a  Koran  reciter  was  engaged 
to  read  passages  from  the  sacred  book. 

Soon  after,  the  Caliph  returned  to  his  palace,  sailing 
down  the  Nile  followed  by  his  Grand  Vizier. 

On  the  following  day  the  director  arrived  at  the 
palace  of  the  Caliph  dressed  in  gorgeous  apparel 
followed  by  a  great  procession  with  music  and  dancing. 

Upon  entering  the  palace  the  director  received  from 
the  Caliph  the  sum  of  two  thousand  pounds  carried  by 
four  men  on  mules — each  one  having  five  hundred — 
to  distribute  to  the  passers  by,  and,  on  reaching  the 
pillar  of  the  gauge,  food  was  given  to  the  hungry. 

On  the  third  morning  of  the  feast  the  Caliph,  sup- 
ported on  a  carpet,  and  surrounded  by  cushions, 
arrived  at  the  head  of  the  canal,  accompanied  by  his 
ministers. 

A  tent  was  pitched  where  they  might  take  rest, 
prayers  were  recited  during  the  cutting  of  the 
dam,  which  sent  the  water  flowing  along  the  canal 
through  the  city,  and  a  great  banquet  terminated 
the  ceremony. 

Of  recent  years  the  day  for  cutting  the  dyke  was 
heralded  by  men  and  boys  walking  through  the  streets 
of  Cairo  with  drums  and  flags  of  green,  yellow  and 
white,  stopping  before  the  people's  doors,  reciting 
flowery  poetry,  and  making  a  very  unmusical  noise. 
On  the  actual  day  of  cutting  the  dyke,  the  "  akaba," 
or  large  Nile  boat,  gaily  decorated  with  flags  and 
lanterns,  and  with  a  native  band  on  board,  started 
from  the  city  ferry  and  sailed  majestically  down  to 
the  dyke — followed  by  another  boat — the  occupants 
firing  off  cannons  at  intervals. 

In  the  meantime,  men  of  arts  and  crafts,  masons, 


THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  CUTTING  OF  THE  DYKE 


TOPSY-TURVY  CUSTOMS  21 


joiners,  smiths,  stone-cutters  and  sculptors  followed  in 
grand  procession,  beating  drums  and  hoisting  banners. 
When  everything  was  ready,  workmen  cut  the  dam 
and  the  water  flowed  gaily  through.  Of  late  the 
"  khalig"  or  canal  has  been  filled  up,  and  converted 
into  a  street,  and  consequently  the  men  of  arts  and 
crafts  are  not  called  for,  but  the  anniversary  still  main- 
tains its  chief  characteristic,  that  of  great  rejoicing  and 
brilliant  illuminations. 

Modern  travellers  say,  "  If  you  once  drink  of  the 
waters  of  the  Nile,  you  are  bound  to  return  and  drink 
again."  So  you  see  the  Nile  still  maintains  its  charm 
for  ancient  and  modern  alike,  though,  sad  to  say,  it 
is  no  longer  kept  sweet  and  pure  as  of  old. 


CHAPTER  V 

TOPSY-TURVY  CUSTOMS 

Arabia  has  been  called  topsy-turvy  land,  and  Egypt 
too,  I  think  might  be  called  by  the  same  name,  because 
there  are  so  many  things  done  in  exactly  the  opposite 
way  to  what  they  are  done  in  England.  Here  are 
a  few  instances. 

A  little  boy  is  told  to  write  out  an  exercise  in  his 
copy-book  and  he  promptly  begins  on  the  right-hand 
side  of  the  top  line  of  the  last  page  of  his  book. 
Now  you  of  course  would  begin  on  the  left-hand  side 
of  the  first  page — at  least  that  is  what  I  did"  when  I 
was  at  school. 

Another  very  topsy-turvy  thing  which  happens 
is  this  : — 

When  there  is  a  feast  of  any  kind  and  there  are  little 
boys  and  girls  in  the  family,  it  is  always  the  boy  who 


22 


CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


gets  the  best  gallabeea  to  wear,  and  the  best  seat  in 
the  guest  room,  and  who  receives  the  most  attention, 
and  gets  the  best  piece  of  sweetmeat.  The  little  sister 
often  stands  shyly  in  the  background,  gazing  with 
longing  eyes  at  her  favoured  little  brother.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  in  Egypt  boys  are  thought  a 
great  deal  more  of  than  girls. 

When  a  baby  boy  is  born  there  is  great  rejoicing, 
and  the  mother  uses  a  large  amount  of  trickery  so  as 
to  make  the  evil  spirit  think  the  boy  is  a  girl. 

When  you  visit  a  new  born  baby  for  the  first  time, 
you  must  say  something  like  the  following  sentence. 
"  What  is  that  horrid-looking  bundle  you  have  there  ? 
It  looks  like  pitch."  You  may  be  allowed  a  glimpse 
of  the  so  described  parcel,  and  even  if  ever  such  a 
pretty  little  face  peeps  at  you  from  behind  its  kohl 1- 
besmeared  eyes,  you  must  say  "  horrid  little  thing," 
and  then  resort  to  the  ordinary  topic  of  conversation 
which  is  generally  made  up  of  salaams. 

Still  more  topsy-turvy  customs  have  we  in  Pharaoh's 
land.  We  not  only  write  from  right  to  left  but  we  read 
and  sing  and  play  music  all  in  the  same  way.  When 
you  visit  the  Sunday  school  you  shall  sing  "  Jesus 
loves  me,  this  I  know,"  beginning  at  the  right  hand 
side  of  the  book. 

Then  the  funniest  and  yet  saddest  topsy-turvy 
custom  is  the  reversion  of  that  grand  command, 
"  Children  obey  your  parents."  "  Parents  obey  your 
children  "  is  the  usual  order  of  the  day  in  Egypt,  and 
you  can  picture  to  yourself  all  the  sad  results  which 
follow. 

One  very  hot  day  a  little  boy  named  Understanding 
was  carried  to  the  doctor.    "  This  little  child,"  said 
the  doctor  to  the  mother,  "  is  very  ill,  and  if  he.  is  to 
1  Kohl  =  charcoal  dust. 


TOPSY-TURVY  CUSTOMS 


23 


get  better  he  must  stay  with  kind  nurses  in  the  hospital 
for  sick  people.' '  Understanding  was  only  a  little  boy, 
and  did  not  really  know  how  to  choose  for  himself, 
neither  did  he  know  what  was  best  for  him,  although 
his  name  would  make  you  think  he  did ;  but  because 
he  said,  "  No,  no,  no,"  his  mother  looked  at  the  doctor 
and  said,  "  he  has  said  no,  and  who  am  I  that  I  should 
alter  his  word  ?  "  and  so  little  Understanding  went 
home  to  die  ! 

Children  of  Egypt  are  not  privileged  as  are  the 
children  of  England.  They  are  seldom  taught  any- 
thing that  is  good.  They  are  brought  up  in  a  land 
where  there  is  plenty  to  make  them  wicked  but  nothing 
to  make  them  good.  And  yet  how  lovable  they  are  ! 
Don't  you  long  that  they  should  know  all  about  Jesus, 
the  loving  tender  Jesus,  who  makes  your  life  so  pleasant 
and  good  ? 

One  day,  when  the  school  bell  rang  for  assembly, 
a  sad-looking  woman  was  seen  anxiously  looking  for 
the  teacher.  When  asked  her  reason  for  being  there, 
she  replied — "  Will  you  please  beat  my  two  boys." 
"  Why  ?  "  said  the  astonished  teacher.  "  Because  I 
have  no  rest,"  replied  the  mother,  "  I  am  a  widow ; 
first  one  beats  me,  and  then  the  other." 

When  remonstrated  with,  the  boys  made  answer, 
"  Why  should  we  not  beat  her,  she  is  only  a  woman  ?  " 

Cruel  boys  !  But  then  it  is  not  their  fault.  Their 
religion  teaches  them  it  is  right  so  to  do  ! 


24  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


CHAPTER  VI 

CHILDLIFE  IN  A  MOHAMMEDAN  LAND 

Nothing  can  be  more  sad  than  the  lot  of  children 
in  a  Moslem  land.  They  fall  heirs  to  all  the  miseries 
which  ignorant  and  superstitious  parents  can  bestow 
upon  them.  The  poor  wee  mites  are  denied  the 
ordinary  comforts  and  daily  care  of  a  Christian  home. 
The  fear  of  the  evil  eye  adorns  them  with  charms — 
leather  bags,  old  teeth,  and  filthy  garments — while 
it  deprives  them  of  the  pleasures  of  a  bath,  clean 
comfortable  clothes,  and  proper  care  when  ill.  (One 
way  of  treating  sore  eyes  is  to  sprinkle  powdered 
brick- dust  into  them !)  Our  hearts  grow  sick  as  we 
see  poor  neglected  babies,  lying  in  the  sunlight,  with 
their  faces  covered  with  Egyptian  flies,  which  excel 
in  perseverance  and  never  let  go  until  they  must. 

When  we  remember  the  careful  training,  and  how 
jealously  the  Christian  father  and  mother  protect 
and  guard  their  children  from  evil,  we  shudder  to 
think  of  all  the  wickedness  which  surrounds  the 
children  in  the  lands  of  the  False  Prophet. 

From  earliest  infancy  until  they  are  grown  up, 
they  hear  evil  things  spoken  of  lightly,  so  that  from 
the  very  beginning  their  hearts  grow  hardened  to  sin 
and  think  little  of  it.  Then,  too,  they  are  denied  the 
joys  of  home.  They  have  yet  to  learn  what  that  word 
means.  They  know  so  little  of  it  that  they  have  no 
such  word  in  their  language.  No  wonder  that  this 
is  the  case  when  often  two  or  more  wives  live  together 
in  one  harem.  Or  the  father's  interests  are  centred 
in  several  different  houses,  in  each  of  which  one  of  his 
wives  lives.    We  have  seen  some  children  who  scarcely 


MOHAMMEDAN  CHILDHOOD  25 


knew  to  what  home  they  belonged,  going  about,  as 
they  did,  from  one  house  to  another  where  their 
father's  wives  were  kept. 

We  must  draw  a  curtain  over  some  of  the  things 
which  darken  the  life  of  the  Moslem  child,  and  ask 
all  who  read  these  lines  to  pray.  Pray  for  the  Moslem 
father,  mother  and  children. 

Here  is  an  instance  of  how  a  little  Moslem  child  is 
treated  when  ill. 

One  day  a  tiny  girl,  named  Sorrowful,  became  very 
ill.  Many  were  the  charms  which  adorned  the  un- 
washed little  body — but  the  power  to  heal  was  lacking. 

Sorrowful's  mother  was  very  anxious  that  she  should 
get  well,  as  she  was  her  only  child,  and  her  father  was 
a  very  unkind  man  who  would  have  sent  away  her 
mother  had  the  child  died.  So  one  day  she  was 
dressed  in  a  very  funny  garment  covered  with  patches, 
not  because  the  garment  was  an  old  one,  but  in  order 
to  make  the  evil  spirit  think  she  was  only  a  poor 
miserable  little  girl  not  worth  thinking  about.  Then 
the  mother  started  on  her  journey  to  a  certain  mosque 
wherein  was  buried  an  old  man  who  was  said  to  be 
endued  with  power,  during  his  lifetime,  to  charm 
away  demons.  So  little  Sorrowful  was  laid  with  many 
other  baby  girls  by  the  side  of  the  old  man's  tomb, 
so  that  his  spirit  might  talk  to  the  evil  spirit  which 
possessed  the  child. 

In  the  meantime  the  mother  walked  quickly  away, 
and  during  her  absence  the  chief  of  demons  was 
supposed  to  come,  and,  at  the  request  of  the  old 
man's  spirit,  seize  all  his  little  child  demons  and  carry 
them  off.  After  a  time  Sorrowful's  mother  returned, 
and  having  placed  some  lentils  and  sugar  by  the  old 
man's  tomb  as  a  reward,  without  speaking,  singled 
out  her  little  girl  from  the  rest  and  walked  quickly 


26  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


away,  back  to  her  home.  But,  to  her  agony  and 
amazement,  little  Sorrowful  remained  ill. 

This  would  not  have  been  the  case  had  she  known 
of  the  beautiful  hospital,  in  which  was  a  special  ward 
for  little  Egyptian  children  like  Sorrowful,  where, 
thank  God,  many  tiny  sick  ones  are  now  brought,  and 
where  they  are  taught  to  pray  to  the  Good  Shepherd, 
who  alone  has  the  power,  and  who  gives  the  power  to 
his  servants,  to  heal  the  sick  and  lead  the  blind. 

There  is  a  great  work  for  you  children  of  the  West 
to  do,  that  is — to  pray  that  thousands  of  ignorant 
and  sorrowful  mothers  may  learn  of  this  hospital, 
and  bring  their  children  to  hear  of  Him,  who  when 
on  earth  said  : — 

"  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  Me  and  forbid 
them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 


CHAPTER  VII 
mohammedan  childhood — Continued 

The  house  of  a  poor  "  Fellah  "  is  humble,  consisting 
ordinarily  of  one  room  and  a  large  courtyard,  and  is 
as  a  rule  dirty. 

The  walls  are  of  sun-dried  mud  brick,  the  roof  is 
made  of  cotton  stalks,  and  is  of  course  flat,  as  is  the 
case  with  all  the  houses  in  the  East,  whence  you  can 
understand  Peter  walking  on  the  roof  while  praying. 
The  floor  is  of  earth,  and  a  small  opening  in  the  wall 
serves  as  a  window.  In  such  a  house  live  the  members 
of  the  family  with  their  domestic  animals,  and  in 
these  surroundings  Egyptian  children  of  the  country 
class  are  born  and  brought  up. 

These  children  are  not  burdened  with  many  clothes 


MOHAMMEDAN  CHILDHOOD  27 


or  lessons,  but  as  their  parents  make  a  living  by 
industriously  turning  every  inch  of  Nile  mud  into  use, 
so  the  boys  and  girls  when  quite  small  have  to  work 
hard,  even  tiny  tots  riding  on  the  back  of  the  timid 
buffalo  to  drive  it  home  after  the  day's  toil. 

Boys  are  frequently  employed  to  drive  donkeys, 
which  are  much  in  demand  all  over  Egypt.  Those 
who  make  a  regular  profession  of  the  trade  sometimes 
give  their  donkeys  striking  names,  especially  where 
tourists  are  concerned. 

There  was  a  donkey  once  called  "  Bishop  of  London," 
another  "  Lord  Salisbury,"  another  "  Telephone," 
another  "  President  Roosveldt,"  and  another  "  Yankee 
Doodle."  The  boys  become  very  diplomatic  in  their 
choice  of  names  for  their  animals.  If  the  tourist  is 
American,  he  at  once  gives  the  name  as  "  President 
Roosveldt."  If  English,  "  Bishop  of  London,"  or 
some  such  grand  title,  thinking  to  make  a  little  extra 
backshish  by  pleasing  the  representative  of  the 
different  countries. 

A  small  proportion  of  the  boys  may  be  allowed  for 
a  short  time  to  attend  the  village  "  kuttab  "  or  school, 
and,  like  the  children  of  other  nations,  they  are  very 
inquisitive,  and  often  ask  questions  which  are  difficult 
to  answer.  Mother  of  course  is  the  person  appealed 
to,  but  poor  mother  is  only  like  a  cow  or  a  donkey, 
knows  nothing,  and  so  her  child  asks  in  vain. 
She  can  teach  him  nothing  about  the  love  of  God, 
love  of  home-land,  or  good  morals,  but  instead  she 
fills  his  mind  with  fables,  and  evil  fairy  tales.  He  is 
told  not  to  leave  the  house  after  sunset,  or  walk  where 
it  is  dark,  lest  he  should  be  swallowed  up  by  ghosts  or 
some  dreadful  animals.  So  the  Egyptian  boys  grow 
up  to  be  cowards,  unable  to  undertake  hard  or 
responsible  work.    They  are  not  taught  to  be  men, 


28  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


nor  to  govern  their  own  passions,  nor  to  seek  their 
country's  welfare. 

How  shall  I  describe  a  village  kuttab  ?  I  think 
a  picture  will  be  the  best  description.  The  slates  the 
boys  are  holding  in  their  hands  are  made  of  tin,  upon 
which  they  write,  with  ink  and  reed  pens,  quotations 
from  their  sacred  book.  The  boy  is  considered 
cleverest  who  can  repeat  off  by  heart  a  great  deal 
of  the  Koran  though  perhaps  he  does  not  understand 
a  word  of  it. 

Once  upon  a  time  not  long  ago  there  was  a  kuttab 
in  which  sat  an  old  sheikh  with  a  number  of  little 
boys  around  him.  He  kept  by  his  side  a  pile  of 
water-melon  skins  and  the  peelings  ol  several  oranges, 
and  whenever  a  boy  made  a  great  noise  would  throw 
at  his  head  a  piece  of  this  rubbish. 

Little  girls,  as  I  have  said  before,  are  considered  to 
be  not  worth  teaching,  and  are  generally  conspicuous  by 
their  absence.  But  although  the  country  child  knows  so 
little  of  school  life,  yet  with  the  town  boys  it  isjdifferent. 
The  desire  for  education  is  growing  rapidly,  and  the 
town  boy  spends  a  fair  portion  of  his  time  in  study. 

Play  and  physical  exercises  are  not  encouraged,  and 
boys  are  instructed  by  teachers  and  parents  not  to  play 
but  to  study.  There  is  an  Arabic  proverb  which  the 
father  of  the  boy  generally  leaves  with  the  teacher 
when  authorising  him  to  punish  his  child,  which  says, 
"  You  may  have  the  flesh,  and  I  the  bones,"  meaning 
that  if  ever  he  is  found  playing  he  must  be  severely 
chastised. 

Little  boys  are  sometimes  punished  by  being  made 
to  kneel  on  small  pebbles,  or  by  holding  a  heavy  thing 
with  one  or  both  hands  raised  above  the  head  for  a 
considerable  length  of  time.  A  favourite  way  of 
punishing  was  to  lash  the  boy  on  his  bare  heels.  In 


MOHAMMEDAN  CHILDHOOD  29 


some  schools  during  the  Nile  flood,  the  teacher  stamps 
the  leg  of  each  boy  with  a  seal  dipped  in  red  ink,  to 
prevent  them  from  swimming  or  bathing,  and  woe  to 
the  boy  when  inspected  at  the  end  of  the  holiday  if 
the  mark  of  the  seal  be  not  found. 

When  a  boy  first  goes  to  school,  always  without  the 
slightest  knowledge  of  learning,  he  is  generally  given 
the  verb  "  to  strike  "  to  conjugate,  while  children 
of  England  are  given  the  verb  "  to  love,"  but  in  Egypt 
the  verb  "  to  strike  "  is  put  to  so  much  practical  use, 
that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  its  being  given  as  a 
study.  When  we  paint  a  door  we  "  strike  it,"  with 
paint,  or  if  we  play  an  organ  we  are  said  to  strike  it. 
And  when  the  people  wash  their  clothes,  they  beat 
them  for  all  they  are  worth  on  large  stones,  using 
Nile  mud  as  soap.  Sometimes  the  Sheikh  during 
lesson  time  is  half  asleep  or  he  feels  a  little  indisposed, 
so  he  sits  lazily  on  a  stool  and  says  in  a  dreamy  voice, 
"  Oh  children,  you  must  not  make  a  noise,  or  get  into 
any  mischief,  because  I  am  ill  to-day,  and  you  must 
teach  one  another."  Then  he  will  appoint  some  of 
the  elder  boys  as  overseers,  to  write  down  the  names 
of  any  who  are  naughty.  The  younger  boys  rise  up  in 
open  revolt  and  there  is  a  humming,  buzzing,  and 
quarrelling  noise.  And  as  there  are  no  full  stops, 
commas,  or  capital  letters  in  the  Arabic  language, 
it  is  difficult  to  know  where  and  what  they  are  reading. 

Games  and  play  do  not  enter  largely  into  child  life 
in  Egypt,  but  here  and  there  you  see  the  natural 
tendency  of  children  breaking  forth,  in  the  excitement 
of  flying  a  home-made  kite,  or  cruelly  teasing  a  poor 
little  sparrow  or  kitten. 

They  have  several  games  of  their  own  which  when 
translated  into  English  have  not  much  meaning ; 
one  is  : — 


30  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


The  Game  of  the  Mother  with  her  Daughter 

and  the  Cat 

and  is  as  follows  : — 

The  children  form  a  circle  facing  each  other.  The 
mother  places  in  the  centre  some  leaven  and  says  : 
"  Take  care  of  the  leaven,  oh  children,  while  I  go 
to  bring  water  from  the  river."  The  cat  who  has  been 
in  hiding  rushes  out  as  soon  as  the  mother  has  gone, 
saying,  "  Open  the  door  !  "  The  girls  say  "  Nay  ! 
Our  mother  will  beat  us."  At  last  the  cat  enters 
by  force  and  runs  away  with  the  leaven.  The 
mother  returns  and  wails  out,  "  Where  is  the 
leaven  ?  "  "In  the  cupboard,"  say  the  children. 
u  Look,  look,"  says  the  mother,  "  There  is  nothing  !  " 
"  Under  the  tray,"  say  the  children.  "  Look,  look, 
there  is  nothing !  "  and  so  they  continue,  until 
at  last  the  cat  appears  and  mews  loudly.  Then  a 
child  follows  the  mother,  pursuing  the  cat,  who  dodges 
in  and  out  among  the  children  until  at  last  he  is 
caught  and  receives  a  well-deserved  beating. 

The  Game  of  the  Black  Raven 

One  child  takes  the  role  of  the  mother,  another 
that  of  the  raven,  who  stands  before  the  mother  and 
begins  to  snatch  away  her  children.  The  mother  tries 
to  save  them,  but  the  raven  says,  "I  am  the  black 
raven  which  snatches  away  children."  The  mother 
says,  "  But  I  am  their  mother  and  will  save  them," 
but  without  avail.  The  raven  continues  to  snatch 
one  by  one,  until  only  one  is  left,  and  the  mother 
makes  one  desperate  effort  to  save  it.  The  raven  says, 
"  I  must  have  your  last  child."  "  Who  will  bake  my 
bread  ?  "  says  the  mother.  "  I  am  coming,"  says  the 
raven.    "  But  who  will  cook  me  food  ?  "    "I  am 


MOHAMMEDAN  CHILDHOOD  31 


just  going  to  snatch,"  says  the  raven.  "  But  who 
will  clean  the  house  ?  "  says  the  distracted  mother ; 
but  the  raven  has  gone  with  the  last  little  girl,  and  the 
poor  lonely  mother  sits  down  to  wail. 

Boys  and  girls  are  married  at  such  an  early  age  in 
Egypt,  that  they  have  very  little  time  to  play. 

A  mother,  as  a  rule,  wishes  to  marry  her  son  in  order 
to  secure  to  herself  a  servant,  and  the  little  wife  be- 
comes no  more  than  her  husband's  slave,  or  plaything, 
and  the  general  drudge  of  the  house. 

A  little  girl  when  born  is  often  chosen  by  her  parents 
to  wed  a  certain  cousin,  and  when  the  time  comes,  she 
will  be  married  to  him  without  ever  having  seen  him. 
It  is  quite  a  detail  whether  they  love  each  other  or  not. 
In  Arabic,  as  a  rule,  the  man  always  speaks  of  his  wife 
as  "  The  daughter  of  his  uncle,"  as  those  of  you  who 
have  read  Arabian  Nights  will  know. 

It  is  a  great  offence  to  the  parents  if  after  the 
marriage  the  wedded  pair  express  a  desire  to  live  in  a 
separate  house.  They  consider  it  to  be  a  token  of 
disloyalty  to  them. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SUPERSTITIONS 

The  Egyptians  are  a  people  full  of  dark  sayings  and 
superstitions.  And,  as  I  have  said,  you  must  be  very 
careful  to  conceal  your  admiration  for  a  new  baby.  If 
you  promise  to  say  "  horrid  little  thing,"  when  you  see 
it,  I  will  take  you  to  the  ceremony  of  naming  an 
Egyptian  child. 
Some  houses  have  good-sized  doors  with  a  smaller 


32  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


door  cut  in  the  centre,  and  mushrabia  or  lattice-work 
windows,  through  which  pretty  faces  may  peep  without 
danger  of  being  seen. 

We  knock,  and  an  invisible  hand,  working  some- 
where in  the  upper  region  of  the  house,  draws  a  long 
piece  of  rope  attached  to  the  latch,  which  opens. 

The  Gospel  story  has  more  than  once  found  its  way 
into  this  house,  so  we  are  not  strangers  when  we  meet 
our  hostess.  But  to-day  she  takes  very  little  notice  of 
us,  as  her  thoughts  are  otherwise  engaged. 

Gathered  around  her  sits  a  group  of  black-robed 
women,  and  hidden  away  somewhere  in  that  dark, 
dismal  room  lies  the  nameless  baby,  wrapped  up  in  an 
old  piece  of  rag.  The  latter  must  be  very  old,  in 
order  that  the  child  may  live,  and  walk  quickly  I 

Now  a  corn  sieve  is  produced,  and  baby,  well 
covered  up  from  the  evil  eyes  around,  is  placed  inside. 

The  mother  stands  over  it,  saying.  "  Hear  the 
words  of  your  father."  Whereupon  she  picks  up  the 
sieve  and  drops  it  again.  This  performance  is  repeated 
six  times,  and  baby  gets  six  bumps  while  the  following 
words  are  being  said  :  "  Hear  the  words  of  your 
grandmother  1  "  "  Beware  of  the  house  running  on 
wheels  !  "  "  Beware  of  the  Car  which  runs  by  its 
spirit  !  "    "  Both  of  which  can  eat  you  quickly  !  " 

Then  the  mother  walks  over  and  around  her  child 
three  times,  saying  "  Upon  the  beloved  prophet  be 
prayers  and  peace."  Thus  ends  the  ceremony,  and 
baby  is  the  proud  possessor  of  a  name  meaning  some 
quality,  such  as  Gentle,  Kind,  Compassionate. 

When  a  child  is  born,  a  large  knife  and  loaf  of  bread 
are  placed  by  its  side,  and  on  the  fifth  day  some  beans 
are  added,  also  a  tall-necked  jar  full  of  water,  the 
handles  of  which  are  decorated  with  gold  earrings,  the 
neck  with  a  gold  necklace,  and  a  red  fez  over  the 


THE  SACRED  TREE 


SUPERSTITIONS 


S3 


mouth.  The  belief  is  that  as  long  as  there  are  bread, 
beans  and  water  for  the  evil  spirit,  it  will  refrain  from 
an  attack  upon  the  child.  A  mixture  of  salt,  rice,  and 
split  peas  is  sprinkled  about  the  neighbours'  houses. 

The  first  sentence  a  child  learns  to  speak  is  prob- 
ably a  phrase  of  impoliteness  and  insult,  which 
the  parents  rejoice  at  and  admire,  on  hearing  it 
from  the  mouth  of  their  little  one  for  the  first 
time,  quite  forgetting  that  when  they  are  grown 
up,  instead  of  rising  up  and  calling  them  blessed, 
their  children  will  live  to  curse  them.  A  very 
dear  little  boy  was  once  brought  to  the  Mission 
Hospital  and  was  almost  dead  from  a  dreadful  disease 
in  his  throat,  which  deprived  him  of  his  speech  for 
several  days.  The  doctors  used  their  skill  and  God 
blessed  their  efforts,  but  it  was  terribly  sad  one  day  to 
hear  the  father  say  to  his  little  son,  who  was  just  getting 
back  the  power  of  speech,  "  Show  your  uncle  how 
cleverly  you  can  curse  him  !  "  Children  of  England, 
are  you  not  glad  to  have  been  born  in  a  Christian  land  ? 

One  day  when  I  was  visiting  a  village  in  the  Nile 
Delta,  I  saw  in  the  distance  a  crowd  of  women,  one  of 
whom  was  carrying  on  her  head  a  round  basket 
containing  a  baby  six  days  old.  They  were 
hurrying  to  the  Mission  doctor,  as  baby's  life  was  in 
danger.  An  operation  was  performed,  and  some  few 
days  after,  I  thought  baby  would  be  all  the  better  for  a 
bath,  and  I,  all  intent  upon  my  work  at  the  sunny  end 
of  the  houseboat  upon  which  I  was  staying,  did  not 
notice  a  group  of  dusky-looking  women  crouching  on 
the  banks  of  the  river,  who  were  so  shocked  at  seeing 
baby  turn  up  its  pink  toes  in  appreciation  of  a  bath, 
that  they  were  heard  to  exclaim  "  She  deserves  to  be 
transported." 

Many  little  babies  are  not  washed  until  they  are  a 
c 


34  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


year  old,  but  then  you  see  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
because  the  mothers  were  brought  up  in  exactly  the 
same  way.  One  day  I  was  trying  to  show  a  woman 
what  she  should  do,  to  make  herself  a  little  less  grimy, 
and  she  walked  away  muttering  to  herself,  "  What 
queer  orders  these  people  give  ;  funny  world  this  ; 
funniest  thing  of  all  is  when  they  tell  you  to  wash  from 
head  to  foot.  They  don't  agree  with  these  things  in 
my  village  !  ' ' 

The  Afreet  or  evil  spirit  is  a  thing  to  be  dreaded, 
and  much  is  done  to  avoid  the  anger  of  the 
demon,  who  is  likely  at  any  moment  to  seize  man, 
woman  or  child.  Consequently,  the  ignorant  people 
stand  in  great  awe  of  him.  A  poor  young  girl  was  said 
one  day  to  be  possessed  by  a  demon,  so  the  usual 
method  of  casting  out  the  devil  was  resorted  to. 

Her  friends  are  invited,  and  the  first  thing  to  be  done 
is  to  ascertain  what  is  the  wish  of  the  spirit. 

The  chief  actress  in  the  drama  approaches  the  one 
possessed,  and  whispers  into  her  ear  "  O  Spirit,  what 
is  the  thing  you  desire  most  ?  "  The  answer  comes 
back,  "  I  wish  for  a  silver  shawl !  "  If  the  Afreet  be 
of  masculine  gender  he  will  wish  for  a  long  cloak  and 
red  fez.  If  a  native  of  the  black  country,  he  will  wish 
for  a  red  cloak  and  a  red  shawl !  If  the  Afreeta  is  a 
mermaid,  she  will  ask  for  a  dish  of  water  in  which  to 
swim  ! 

The  afflicted  will  then  desire  a  bag  of  nuts,  thirteen 
long  candles,  and  a  white  gallabeea.  Last  of  all  a 
sheep  is  brought  and  killed,  and  she  is  made  to  drink 
of  the  warm  blood,  caught  in  the  palm  of  the  hand, 
three  times. 

Then  the  blood  is  sprinkled  over  the  white  gallabeea 
in  which  the  girl  is  robed,  and  forming  a  waist  band 
is  a  string  of  silver  charms  ;  across  the  forehead  is 


SUPERSTITIONS 


35 


fixed  a  set  of  charms,  as  also  on  each  forearm.  She 
then  sits  alone  for  seven  days,  and  no  one  must 
break  the  spell  by  presenting  salaams  ;  tom-toms  are 
beaten  incessantly  to  keep  the  demon  in  a  sweet 
temper. 

If  after  all  this  the  woman  remains  ill,  the  spirit  is 
appealed  to,  and  he  will  say,  "  I  am  not  the  cause. 
You  must  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Abu  Saood,  or  visit 
the  old  woman  buried  under  the  tree  on  the  Island 
of  Rodah." 

This  tree  is  visited  by  hundreds  of  women  on 
the  national  holiday  every  year,  and  is  a  mass  of 
dirty  rags,  hair,  teeth,  etc.,  while  flags  form  festoons 
from  branch  to  branch,  upon  which  are  written 
"  God,"  "Mohammed/ '  and  the  names  of  several 
sheikhs. 

Often  legs,  arms  and  hands  of  ancient  Egyptians 
are  dug  up  and  worn  by  sick  people,  for  which  they 
pay  large  sums  of  money. 

Thick  iron  bands  are  worn  around  the  necks  of  the 
women,  to  charm  away  death  from  their  children. 
And  these  are  the  people  who  say  they  believe  and 
trust  in  God. 

Thank  God,  there  are  many  who  are  learning  to  put 
their  trust  in  the  true  God,  who  long  ago  gave  a 
promise  that  the  day  should  come  when  the  Egyptians 
should  know  the  Lord,  and  of  them  the  Lord  would  be 
able  to  say  :  "  Blessed  be  Egypt  my  people,  .  .  .  and 
Israel  mine  inheritance."  I  wonder  if  you  know 
where  in  Isaiah  this  promise  is  to  be  found  ? 

One  day  quite  recently  I  went  with  one  of  the  Bible- 
women  to  visit  at  the  house  of  one  of  her  neighbours. 
A  company  of  women,  more  or  less  related  to  each 
other,  lived  together.  One  of  the  number  had  been 
ailing  for  some  weeks,  and  the  time  of  our  visit  was  the 


36  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


second  day  of  the  ceremony  for  casting  out  the  sup- 
posed demon.  There  sat  the  weird-looking  old  woman 
covered  with  the  blood  of  the  sheep.  She  looked  truly 
dreadful,  and  it  was  not  difficult  to  imagine  that  she 
might  indeed  be  possessed. 

We  were  very  careful  to  take  not  the  least  notice  of 
her,  lest  we  should  break  the  spell. 

Around  the  room  sat  about  a  dozen  other  women 
robed  in  gorgeous  apparel,  wearing  costly  jewels,  and  in 
the  centre  of  the  room  stood  a  table  covered  with 
plates  of  nuts,  and  bread  illuminated  with  various  sizes 
of  candles,  all  gifts  to  the  evil  spirit. 

The  centre  of  attraction  was  a  shallow  vessel  rilled 
with  costly  jewels  all  of  which  had  been  specially 
requested  by  the  feminine  demon. 

At  the  time  of  our  visit  they  were  all  resting,  quite 
tired  out  from  their  labours,  but  at  the  hour  of  the 
evening  meal  everything  was  to  be  in  full  swing  again, 
dancing,  beating  tom-toms,  and  enticing  the  unwelcome 
visitor  forth  by  snatches  of  song  used  upon  such 
occasions. 

We  rose  to  take  our  leave  with  a  warm  invitation 
from  a  member  of  the  party  to  join  them  in  the  evening 
and  watch  the  proceedings,  making  a  stipulation  that 
we  should  leave  our  Western  head-dress  at  home. 

In  due  time  a  little  party  arrived  at  the  Bible- 
woman's  house  all  excited  to  think  they  were  to  be 
allowed  to  witness  one  of  the  strange  customs  of  the 
Egyptians. 

Alas,  we  were  met  by  Sitt  F.,  who  wore  a  very  dis- 
appointed expression,  and  told  that  the  evil  spirit  had 
strongly  objected  to  our  presence  in  the  afternoon. 
It  had  taken  a  special  dislike  to  my  hat,  and  also  to 
one  of  our  number  who  had  unwisely  remarked  upon 
the  jewels  in  the  vessel.    But  in  reality  we  knew  it 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW 


37 


was  because  we  were  Christians  that  our  presence  had 
been  objected  to. 

We  turned  our  faces  home- ward  again,  to  pray  for 
light  to  shine  through  the  darkness,  remembering  how 
the  seventy  returned  with  joy  to  tell  Jesus  that  even  the 
devils  were  subject  unto  them  through  His  name. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW 

It  will  be  interesting  to  say  a  word  about  the  place  in 
which  this  narrative  has  been  written. 

It  is  all  so  picturesque,  and  brings  before  our  minds 
three  stages  in  the  history  of  Egypt.  The  old,  the 
modern,  and  the  new. 

It  is  the  Church  Missionary  Society's  Hospital  in 
Old  Cairo,  the  southern  part  of  Cairo  city  founded  in 
the  year  641  a.d. 

To  the  west  lie  the  great  pyramids  of  Gizeh,  built 
by  the  Pharaohs  about  five  thousand  years  ago ; 
forming  a  foreground  is  the  famous  and  fertile 
Rodah  Island,  with  its  Nilometer  instituted  by  the 
Mohammedan  Caliphs,  and  the  beautiful  gardens  of  the 
Pashas.  A  few  minutes'  walk  will  bring  you  to  the 
spot  where  it  is  supposed  the  babe  Moses  was  taken 
from  his  ark  of  bulrushes  by  the  river's  brink,  the 
majestic  sails  of  the  Nile  boats  tipping  the  tall  palm 
trees  as  they  wind  in  and  out  past  the  bend  of  the 
river. 

To  the  east,  about  half  an  hour's  walk  from  the 
hospital,  you  may  stand  where  it  is  believed  Joseph 
erected  the  stores  for  keeping  the  corn  during  the 
seven  years  of  famine. 


38  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


A  little  farther  northward  lies  an  old  fort,  dating 
from  the  time  of  the  Persian  invasion,  known  at  present 
as  the  Convent  of  Babylon,  inside  of  which  there  is  a 
Coptic  church.  A  little  further  on  you  find  a  gigantic 
fortress,  built  in  the  time  of  the  Romans.  It  was 
surrounding  this  fort  that  the  fight  took  place  between 
the  Arab  invaders  and  the  Coptic  garrison  under 
their  Greek  commandant,  and  inside  the  fortress  the 
contract  and  terms  of  surrender  were  written  and 
signed.  This  fort  is  now  known  as  St  George's  Convent, 
containing  several  very  interesting  Coptic  churches, 
famous  for  their  wonderful  ivory  carvings,  and  visited 
every  year  by  thousands  of  tourists. 

Two  minutes'  walk  will  bring  you  on  to  the  Coptic 
church  of  Abu  Sarga,  where  tradition  says  Mary  took 
refuge  with  the  child  Jesus,  when  they  fled  into  Egypt. 

Close  to  Abu  Sarga  there  is  a  Jewish  synagogue 
greatly  prized  by  the  Jews,  for  they  believed  that  Moses 
held  services  in  it  during  his  stay  in  Egypt,  and  that 
it  contains  the  grave  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  himself. 

There  are  several  other  Coptic  churches,  scattered 
over  a  distance  of  two  or  three  miles,  to  the  east  of 
the  Mission  buildings. 

About  five  minutes'  walk  to  the  north-east  of  the 
hospital  is  situated  the  Mosque  of  'Amr.  It  was  the 
first  mosque  to  be  built  in  Egypt,  and  in  it  the  Khedive 
performs  his  prayers  once  a  year — a  time  when  a 
prisoner  bound  in  chains  receives  a  free  pardon. 

Often  the  voice  of  the  Muezzin  rings  out  clearly 
from  the  minaret  of  the  mosque  calling  followers  of  the 
False  Prophet  to  prayer,  while  simultaneously  the 
church  bell  will  remind  the  Coptic  Christians  that 
services  are  going  on  in  the  Name  of  Him  who  came  to 
suffer  and  die  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  but  whose 
suffering  and  death  are  despised  by  the  Mohammedans. 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW 


39 


In  the  Mosque  of  'Amr,  there  is  a  column  of  great 
antiquity. 

It  is  said  that,  when  Omar  was  building  the  mosque, 
he  asked  his  master  the  Caliph  Omar  for  a  column  from 
Mecca.  The  Caliph  commanded  the  said  column  to 
migrate  to  the  Nile,  but  it  would  not  stir.  He  repeated 
his  command  still  more  urgently,  but  the  column  re- 
mained immovable.  A  third  time  he  repeated  his 
command,  angrily  striking  the  column  with  his 
corbash,1  but  still  without  effect.  At  length  he 
cried  out—"  I  command  thee  in  the  name  of  God,  O 
Column,  arise  and  betake  thyself  to  Cairo,"  whereupon 
the  column  began  to  walk,  and  a  vein  of  the  marble  is 
shown  as  the  still  visible  mark  of  the  corbash.  Two 
other  columns,  placed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
mosque,  promise  salvation  to  the  man  who  can  pass 
between  them.  As  the  space  is  a  very  narrow  one,  woe 
be  to  the  man,  woman,  boy  or  girl  who  gets  stuck  fast 
in  the  attempt  to  pass  through  ! 

In  the  olden  days  the  Greek  Byzantine  coinage  bore 
the  inscription :  "In  the  Name  of  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,"  but  Abd  el  Malak,  in  the  time  of 
the  Caliphs,  changed  it  and  substituted  the  words  : 
"  There  is  no  God  but  God." 

I  wonder  if  you  children  could  draw  a  map  outline 
of  old  Cairo  from  the  description  of  the  places  I  have 
given  you.  If  so,  you  must  dot  in  as  well  the  hospitals 
for  men,  women  and  children,  where  many  thousands 
hear  the  Story  of  God's  love  year  by  year;  a  little 
church  belonging  to  C.  M.  S.  ;  a  flourishing  day  school 
for  girls,  whose  parents  have  been  taught  that  little  girls 
are  worth  teaching,  and  a  large  building  containing  a 
day  school  for  boys  and  a  small  boarding  school.  In 
the  city  of  Cairo  itself  there  are  two  more  schools, 

1  Whip, 


40  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


with  a  training  class  for  women  teachers,  as  well  as  a 
great  deal  more  work  which  does  not  concern  us  in  this 
book.  What  does  concern  you  is  your  duty  in  praying 
for  all  the  children  of  Egypt  who  find  their  way  to  our 
Mission  schools,  and  for  all  the  thousands  who  do  not, 
that  by  some  means  or  other  they  may  find  their  way 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  X 

A  CAMEL  RIDE 

This  is  only  a  journey  in  thought — in  reality  it  would 
take  at  least  three  or  four  days  to  accomplish. 

I  wonder  if  any  of  you  have  ever  sat  on  the  hump  of  a 
camel.  It  is  quite  an  experience  in  one's  life  to  do  so. 
Time  is  no  object,  so  we  will  not  arrange  an  hour  to  be 
back.  No  girls  for  this  journey,  and  remember,  boys, 
the  leader  of  your  camel  will  probably  be  a  little  son 
of  the  desert,  so  you  will  no  doubt  have  the  opportunity 
if  you  keep  on  the  look-out  to  gain  an  insight  into  the 
life  and  heart  of  your  little  protector. 

A  few  grunts  and  growls  from  the  gaily  caparisoned 
"  Father  of  the  hump,"  a  jerk  forward,  a  jerk  back- 
wards, and  then  a  seemingly  breathless  leap  into  the 
air,  and  you  are  mounted  on  your  camel,  gazing  from 
the  heights  upon  your  little  companion,  who, 
upright  in  figure,  and  with  silent  footsteps,  leads 
you  over  the  desert. 

The  noiseless  tread  of  the  great  animal  upon  which 
you  are  riding  and  its  swinging  motion  bring  you  face 
to  face  with  the  wonderful  pyramids,  towering  high 
above  all  other  buildings,  standing  alone  in  the  desert, 
and  the  dear  old  Sphinx,  a  little  beyond,  gazing  with 


A  CAMEL  RIDE 


41 


pathetic  eyes  into  the  vast  unknown.  We  stand 
awestruck  before  it  with  some  such  thought  as  this 
running  through  our  minds  :  "  Tell  me,  O  Sphinx,  your 
story — whence  came  you  ?  "  but  it  answers  never  a 
word,  and  still  gazes  with  that  far-away  look  into  space, 
and  all  we  learn  of  the  Sphinx  is  that  for  seven 
thousand  years  the  sun  has  risen  and  set,  encircling 
for  a  time  its  huge  grey  body  in  all  the  glowing 
Egyptian  sunset  tints  ;  then  the  mantle  of  darkness 
wraps  itself  around  the  silent  form,  adding  another 
day  to  the  seven  thousand  years,  and  the  secret  of  the 
Sphinx  is  still  its  own. 

Your  little  camel  boy  is  looking  up  at  you  wondering 
what  you  think  of  the  wonders  of  his  country.  You 
have  been  asking  his  name  and  he  tells  you  it  is  Abd 
el  Nabi,  which  means  "  Servant  of  the  Prophet." 
Perhaps  as  we  journey  along  you  will  get  to  know 
something  more  about  him,  for,  although  he  has  never 
been  inside  a  school  in  his  life,  his  quick  but  unde- 
veloped little  brain  has  not  been  idle  during  his  journeys 
with  Western  visitors  ;  he  has  perhaps  already  packed 
away  into  his  brain  box  some  new  word  picked  up 
from  your  conversation.  Let  us  keep  along  the  track 
of  the  Nile  valley,  making  our  way  up  country. 
Suddenly  we  come  to  a  standstill,  all  eyes  in  one 
direction,  facing  a  village  nestling  among  the  palm 
trees.  We  were  once  attacked  by  robbers  from  this 
village,  but  the  centre  of  attraction  is  not  the  village, 
but  a  huge  stone  statue  lying  under  the  shade  of  the 
date  trees.  Whose  can  it  be  ?  It  is  the  figure  of 
Rameses  II.,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression,  whose 
history  is  recorded  on  some  of  the  great  pylons  at 
Karnak. 

Now  we  must  pass  on,  as  we  have  much  to  see  and 
far  to  go. 


42  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


"  What  is  the  name  of  this  town  on  the  canal  ?  " 
"  Oh,"  said  little  Abd  el  Nabi,  "  this  is  the  Fayoum, 
and  this  water  is  called  the  River  of  Joseph."  "  Will 
you  tell  me  why  it  is  called  by  this  name  ?  "  And  Abd 
el  Nabi,  nothing  loth  to  relate  the  legends  of  his  beloved 
desert,  said,  "  I  will  tell  you  !  " 

"  Once  upon  a  time,  thousands  of  years  ago,  King 
Pharaoh  wished  to  marry  his  daughter  to  another  king, 
but  Pharaoh  was  very  perplexed  in  his  mind  because 
he  had  no  dowry  to  bestow  in  the  shape  of  land,  except 
a  strip  of  marshy  ground  which  all  his  ministers  said 
could  not  be  drained  in  a  thousand  days.  At  last 
Joseph  was  called  before  Pharaoh  and,  when  asked 
his  opinion  concerning  the  marshy  district,  knelt  before 
the  king  and  said,  '  Be  it  known  unto  the  king,  that 
if  he  will  trust  his  servant  to  carry  out  this  work,  it 
shall  be  completed  in  ninety  days,  and  then  shall  the 
marriage  cry  go  forth  throughout  the  land  in  honour  of 
Pharaoh's  daughter/ 

"  The  work  was  begun  and  completed  at  the  ap- 
pointed time,  and,  in  the  place  of  the  useless  marshy 
tract  of  land,  there  flowed  through  the  country  a  beauti- 
ful stream  banked  on  either  side  by  lovely  gardens. 
The  king  was  so  pleased  that  he  gave  it  the  name  of 
Bahr  Yusef,  or  '  Joseph's  river,'  and  the  town  which  by 
degrees  sprang  up  he  called  '  Alf  Youm,'  which  means 
in  Arabic  '  a  thousand  days,'  and  thus  we  get  the 
modern  name,  El  Fayoum." 

Now  we  must  get  on,  but  we  will  rest  when  we  get 
to  the  town  of  Minieh.  "  Minieh,"  said  Abd  el  Nabi, 
"  was  the  ancient  burial  place  for  sacred  cats  ;  quite 
near  the  town  is  a  catacomb  through  which  you  may 
walk  for  one  hour  and  a  half  without  reaching  the  end." 
Hundreds  of  sacred  cats  were  mummified  thousands 
of  years  ago,  and  buried  here  with  great  ceremony. 


A  CAMEL  RIDE 


43 


"  I  would  not  kill  a  cat,  not  for  worlds,"  said  Abd 
el  Nabi,  "  because  the  soul  of  my  grandmother  when  she 
died  migrated  to  a  cat,  and  if  I  were  to  kill  one,  the 
ghost  of  my  grandmother  would  surely  haunt  me. 
We  children  of  the  desert  say  a  cat  has  seven  spirits. 
A  long  time  ago,  when  Persia  made  war  with  Egypt, 
the  Persians  placed  an  army  of  wild  cats  in  their  front 
ranks.  The  Egyptians  were  terrified  and  beat  a  hasty 
retreat,  leaving  victory  with  the  wild  quadrupeds  and 
the  Persians." 

Abd  el  Nabi  was  looking  very  tired,  but  politeness 
forbade  him  to  speak  of  himself  as  being  so  in  our 
company.  So  we  dismount,  leaving  our  camels  be- 
hind in  charge  of  Abd  el  Nabi,  who  had  met  various 
uncles  and  cousins  on  the  way  and  who  undertook  the 
charge  of  our  retinue,  while  we  travelled  on  a  very 
ordinary  train  as  far  as  Luxor,  visiting  all  the  wonderful 
ruins  of  temples  there  to  be  seen.  Crossing  the  river 
we  ride  through  the  quiet  desert  to  the  city  of  the  dead, 
where  among  the  hills  and  valleys,  deep  down  in 
secret  chambers,  lie  the  bodies  of  ancient  kings  and 
queens,  their  life  story  set  forth  in  the  mystical 
writings  on  the  walls  of  their  tombs,  while  the  bodies  are 
encircled  in  casings  containing  many  jewels  of  gold 
and  precious  stones,  as  necessary  to  their  happiness  in 
the  life  of  the  world  to  come,  as  they  had  been  in  the  life 
that  had  passed.  Time  and  space  there  is  not  to  tell 
of  all  the  wonderful  things  we  saw,  relics  of  Egypt's 
greatness  ;  the  lost  chord  of  Egypt's  magnificence, 
where  is  it  ? 

There  is  a  temple  at  Karnak  which  has  recorded  on  its 
walls,  in  the  hieroglyphic  writings  of  which  I  have  told 
you,  the  Battle  of  Shishak.  Read  2  Chron.  xii.  1-10, 
and  1  Kings  xiv.  25,  26,  where  it  says  : — 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  in  the  fifth  year  of  king 


44  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


Rehoboam,  that  Shishak  king  of  Egypt  came  up 
against  Jerusalem  ;  and  he  took  away  the  treasures  of 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  the  treasures  of  the  king's 
house  ;  he  even  took  away  ...  all  the  shields  of 
gold  which  Solomon  had  made." 

This  wonderful  temple  took  something  like  fifteen 
hundred  years  to  build.  No  one  builder  was  responsible 
for  the  whole,  but  each  king  tried  to  outdo  his  pre- 
decessor in  building  a  still  more  handsome  memorial  to 
himself. 

We  make  our  journey  back,  gathering  up  our  forces 
at  the  place  where  we  left  them,  and  Abd  el  Nabi,  who, 
refreshed  by  his  rest,  was  quite  ready  to  join  us  on  our 
return  journey.  At  the  end  everybody  agreed  they 
had  spent  a  happy  and  profitable  time.  "  Only  one 
thing,"  said  a  member  of  the  party,  "  made  me  feel  sad 
as  well  as  glad  ;  that  was  the  story  the  little  servant 
of  the  prophet  told  me  about  himself  and  his  tiny 
brother,  which  is  as  follows  : — Abd  el  Nabi  was  the 
eldest  of  two  brothers  who  loved  each  other  dearly. 
They  lived  in  a  little  mud  hut  under  the  shade  of  the 
lofty  palm  trees  in  a  far-away  village.  Both  used  to 
go  out  very  early  in  the  morning  to  work  in  the  fields, 
Abd  el  Nabi  doing  the  heavy  work,  and  little  Peace, 
his  brother,  leading  about  the  animals.  They  had  no 
one  else  in  the  world,  so  they  were  all  in  all  to  each 
other.  One  morning,  Abd  el  Nabi  rose  from  his 
straw  mat  on  the  floor  to  hear  his  small  brother 
groaning  with  pain,  and  when  Peace  tried  to  walk  he 
fell  down  again  ;  so  that  day  he  had  to  stay  at  home 
all  alone.  Each  day  he  grew  more  sick  and  ill,  and 
Abd  el  Nabi  spent  all  his  money  in  bringing  barbers 
and  people  to  charm  away  the  evil  spirit  which  he  now 
firmly  believed  had  taken  possession  of  Peace  ;  but  he 
only  grew  worse  and  worse  every  day.    Now,  however, 


A  CAMEL  RIDE 


45 


comes  a  nice  part  of  the  story.  Abd  el  Nabi's  sorrow 
was  turned  into  joy  one  day,  by  a  stranger  telling  him 
of  a  place  where  he  was  sure  little  Peace  could  be  made 
quite  well,  so  with  joy  he  hurried  to  his  hut  where  his 
brother  had  been  lying  day  after  day  with  no  one  to 
take  care  of  him,  and  told  him  the  glad  news,  but  alas  ! 
when  Abd  el  Nabi's  excitement  cooled  down  he  began 
to  reflect  upon  the  journey — all  his  money  was  gone, 
and  the  distance  to  the  great  city  was  a  long  one. 

Now  it  happened  that  these  two  little  brothers  had  a 
lamb  which  they  loved  intensely.  It  really  belonged 
to  Abd  el  Nabi.  Could  he,  for  the  sake  of  his  little 
brother,  make  the  sacrifice  and  sell  his  lamb  ?  Yes,  he 
would  !  and  with  his  arm  around  the  neck  of  his  pet, 
unbeknown  to  Peace,  he  led  it  forth,  and  sold  it  into 
the  hand  of  strangers.  Then  he  crept  back  with  a 
sorrowful  heart  for  the  loss  of  his  lamb,  yet  glad  that 
he  could  now  take  his  little  suffering  brother  to  the 
great  doctor.  One  very  hot  day,  these  two  little 
boys  arrived  at  the  Christian  hospital  gates,  trembling 
lest  anything  should  happen  to  keep  them  outside  ;  but 
nothing  did  happen,  and  soon  little  Peace  was  safely 
tucked  up  in  a  nice  bed  in  one  of  the  wards  of  the  C.  M.  S. 
Hospital,  and  there  he  heard,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life,  about  the  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus  for  the  sins 
of  the  whole  world,  even  about  Him  who  once  called 
the  little  ones  around  Him  saying,  "  Suffer  the  little 
children  to  come  unto  Me." 

After  many  weeks  of  suffering  little  Peace  got  well, 
and  the  two  brother^  were  once  more  united  in  their 
tiny  village  hut,  the  one  telling  the  other  of  the  wonder- 
ful things  he  had  seen  and  heard  during  his  stay  in  the 
hospital  ward. 


46  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  day's  shopping 

I  know  boys  and  girls  are  very  fond-  of  looking  into 
shop  windows,  so  shall  we  have  a  day's  shopping  in 
Egypt  ?  We  must  all  keep  together,  or  surely  we 
shall  be  lost  in  trying  to  thread  our  way  up  the  crowded 
Mouski  into  the  native  bazaars.  We  will  turn  off 
first  to  the  right  into  the  tent  bazaar  and  also  the 
scent  bazaar.  What  are  all  those  little  children  doing, 
each  one  busy  with  a  coarse  piece  of  canvas,  working 
into  it  all  kinds  of  funny  pictures  ?  Another  day  if 
you  take  a  long  ride  up  behind  the  Pyramids  you  may 
see  many  of  those  bits  of  canvas  made  into  one  huge 
tent  in  which  some  people  live  right  away  in  the  desert. 

"  But  do  those  little  children  never  go  to  school  ?  " 
"  Oh  !  dear  no  !  "  says  the  Moslem,  "  what  is  the  use  of 
sending  them  to  school  ?  They  have  no  brains,  especi- 
ally the  little  girls ;  they  are  only  like  the  cows  and  sheep 
in  the  fields."  "  How  sad,"  you  say,  and  turn  away 
into  a  curious  place,  with  long  narrow  passages  ;  you 
can  almost  shake  hands  from  some  points  across  the 
way.  On  either  side  are  rows  of  what  look  like  broad 
cupboards  with  little  shelves  filled  with  fancy  bottles, 
and  seated  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  crosslegged,  is  a 
well-dressed  Sheikh.  These  are  the  little  perfumery 
shops,  and  each  vendor  of  his  wares  will  try  his  best  to 
entice  you,  especially  if  you  look  with  longing  eyes 
at  his  possessions.  The  owner  of  one  of  these  little 
shops,  before  he  enters  into  business  with  you,  will 
often  say,  "  Bismillah  er  Rahman  er  Raheem,"  which 
means,  "  In  the  name  of  God  the  most  Merciful."  At 
the  same  time  he  is  thinking  how  cleverly  he  is  going  to 


A  DAY'S  SHOPPING  47 


cheat  you.  At  last  you  elect  to  sit  upon  a  very  narrow 
ledge,  and  the  seller  of  scent  will  touch  your  hand  or 
glove  with  the  stopper  from  a  bottle  containing  some 
very  powerful  scent  such  as  Attar  of  Roses,  Violet,  etc. 
You  are  persuaded  to  choose  a  very  tiny  decorated 
bottle,  full  of  strong  Attar  of  Roses,  for  which  you  pay 
fifteen  Egyptian  piastres  (3s.).  The  bottle  is  carefully 
sealed  and  you  will  probably  carry  it  back  to  England 
with  you,  but  alas  !  when  you  open  it  you  discover  a 
very  watery  solution  of  Attar  of  Roses,  instead  of  the 
real  thing.  "  How  could  it  have  happened  ?  "  you 
say.  Therein  lies  a  secret.  The  Egyptians  are  taught 
from  childhood  the  art  of  lying  and  stealing,  so  he 
probably  gave  you  another  little  bottle  which  looked 
exactly  like  the  one  you  purchased,  having  changed  it 
while  your  attention  was  given  to  something  else. 

Now  we  will  cross  over  into  another  narrow  street 
and  wend  our  way  into  the  Khan  el  Khaleely,  named 
after  one  Khaleel,  "  the  most  honourable."  What  is 
that  dismal-looking  building  with  the  large  gate- 
way ?  Oh  !  that  is  where  a  great  many  little  girls 
are  employed  to  change  billowy  masses  of  white  muslin 
into  dyed  squares,  which  form  the  head  dress  for  women 
and  girls  of  the  country.  A  lady  missionary  for  a  long 
time  visited  this  factory  and  taught  some  of  the  girls 
the  story  of  Jesus'  death  and  resurrection,  but  when 
they  began  to  show  signs  of  interest  and  keenness  to 
learn  more,  the  cruel  men  in  the  factory  came  and 
drove  out  the  missionary  with  wicked  words,  and 
so  the  Gospel  story  was  shut  out,  and  all  the  clever 
little  girls,  who  were  only  considered  to  be  like  the 
animals,  were  deprived  of  the  one  interest  of  their 
lives. 

But  come,  we  must  get  on  with  our  shopping.  These 
narrow  streets  and  enclosures  are  some  six  hundred 


48  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


years  old.  On  either  side  of  the  streets  are  the  same 
box-like  little  shops  with  small  tables,  upon  which 
stand  cases  of  most  beautiful  gold  and  silver  orna- 
ments, jewelled  gold  necklaces  for  the  hareem  or 
Zenana  ladies  to  wear,  massive  silver  charms  with 
Koranic  inscriptions  to  ward  off  sickness  from  the 
wearer,  and  tiny  silver  anklets,  with  bells  to  charm 
away  the  evil  eye  from  the  tiny  baby  whose  ankles 
they  encircle.  Even  the  donkeys  are  not  forgotten, 
for  they  can  be  provided  with  elegant  silver  charms. 
I  have  seen  horses  and  donkeys  whose  necks  have 
been  a  mass  of  silver.  Every  donkey  in  Egypt 
wears  a  charm  of  some  kind,  if  only  a  string  of  glass 
beads ! 

Now  we  turn  into  the  still  narrower  passages  with 
their  heaped  treasures  of  carpets,  silks,  jewels  and 
Eastern  embroideries. 

You  must  not  be  in  a  hurry,  but  sit  down,  salaam 
a  great  many  times,  and  drink  some  Persian  tea. 
How  are  all  those  handsome  trays,  bowls  and  vases 
made  ?  Just  take  a  peep  round  the  corner,  and  you 
will  see  the  patient  Eastern  at  work,  carving  minute 
patterns  and  pictures  upon  plain  pieces  of  brass. 
Suddenly  you  become  aware  of  the  clinking  of  hammers 
on  metal  all  along  the  passage  in  front  of  you,  and  then 
you  realise  you  are  in  the  brass  bazaar,  but  our 
pockets  are  very  empty,  so  we  must  be  content  to 
examine  and  enjoy  seeing  the  beautiful  wares  without 
possessing  them.  Egyptian,  Jew,  Turk,  and  Persian, 
are  all  one  in  their  eagerness  to  display  their  goods. 
Sometimes  they  will  say,  "  All  I  have  is  yours,  Oh 
stranger  !  "  but  then  they  do  not  mean  it  !  In  the 
days  of  long  ago  the  merchants  could  not  carry  on  their 
business  so  peacefully.  In  the  reign  of  the  Mamelukes 
little  children  were  carried  off  by  force,  and  the  poor 


A  DAY'S  SHOPPING  49 


vendors  of  these  beautiful  wares  would  hide  away  in 
these  narrow  passages  for  days  with  the  gates  shut,  and 
when  the  power  of  the  Mamelukes  was  broken,  there 
still  followed  days  of  oppression  and  cruelty,  when 
men  and  women,  boys  and  girls,  were  bought  and  sold 
as  slaves. 

On  the  Island  of  Roda,  where  Moses  was  supposed 
to  have  been  hidden  among  the  bulrushes,  there  lives 
a  poor  woman  who  remembers  as  a  little  child  being 
stolen  away  from  her  home  while  playing  with  her 
brothers  and  sisters.  She  tells  how  she  was  carried 
away  by  a  man  riding  an  Arab  horse  which  simply 
flew  along  the  desert  until  it  reached  the  coast,  then 
she  was  put  into  a  big  ship  and  carried  away  to  a 
strange  country,  and  although  she  is  quite  old  she  has 
never  seen  any  of  her  own  people  again.  Such  a  thing 
could  not  happen  now,  because  England  is  taking  care 
of  Egypt. 

You  have  all  heard  of  the  battle  of  Tel  el  Kabeer, 
which  means  "  the  big  hill,"  and  how  our  gallant 
troops  rode  over  the  hot  sandy  desert  to  take  possession 
of  Cairo.  Between  Port  Said  and  Cairo  there  is  a  spot, 
silent  with  memories,  marked  by  some  small  wooden 
crosses,  which  show  us  how  some  of  our  brave  soldiers 
fell. 

Then,  after  that  memorable  ride  from  Tel  el  Kabeer 
to  Cairo,  the  English  cavalry  arrived,  so  tired  they 
could  hardly  keep  on  their  horses,  but  with  their  eyes 
fixed  on  one  spot.  They  rode  on  through  the  city 
streets  until  they  arrived  at  the  formidable-looking 
doors  of  the  citadel.  Their  leader  inquired  for  the 
one  in  command  and  was  told  he  was  asleep.  "  Wake 
him  up,"  was  the  order,  "  and  tell  him  to  surrender." 

Whether  the  sleepy  Egyptian  imagined  that  a  huge 
army  of  English  soldiers  on  horseback,  with  guns 

D 


50  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


and  with  swords,  was  waiting  at  the  great  citadel 
gates,  instead  of  less  than  two  hundred  tired  men, 
history  does  not  say  ;  but  one  fact  remains,  he  came 
forth,  gave  up  the  keys,  and  some  four  thousand  of 
Arabi's  soldiers  walked  quietly  out  to  make  way  for 
England's  little  handful  of  men. 

But  we  must  finish  our  shopping  expedition,  we 
have  not  seen  everything  yet.  Let  us  find  our  way 
into  the  silver-smiths'  bazaar.  Here  as  elsewhere  sits 
the  patient  Egyptian  waiting  to  catch  the  unsuspicious 
traveller ; — we  take  a  hasty  glance  at  the  fine  filagree 
work,  and  then  hurry  out  again  into  fresher  air. 

Now  we  are  once  more  in  the  picturesque  Mouski, 
which  is  a  very  long  narrow  street,  thronged  with 
people  and  vehicles.  We  are  nearly  at  the  top,  and 
we  have  to  reach  the  bottom.  Men  riding  charm- 
bedecked  donkeys  call  out  "  To  your  right  !  "  The 
man  with  the  carriage  says  "  To  your  left !  "  The 
porter  bent  under  the  weight  of  his  burden  screams, 
"  Take  care  of  your  legs  !  "  And  the  man  who  carries 
cool  refreshing  drink,  heralding  the  same  by  noisy 
clanging  of  brass  bowls,  sings  in  a  dreamy  voice, 
"  Drink,  oh  thirsty  one,  the  heat  is  great,  and  the 
journey  before  you  may  be  long  ;  drink  water  sweeter 
than  honey  !  "  And  so  through  this  exciting  rabble, 
you  make  your  way  back  to  Egypt's  "  Clapham 
Junction,"  the  central  square  where  we  shall  find  a 
tram  to  take  us  home. 


VISIT  TO  AN  EGYPTIAN  VILLAGE  51 


CHAPTER  XII 

A   VISIT  TO  AN  EGYPTIAN  VILLAGE 

One  very  hot  day  in  May,  a  few  years  ago,  a  little 
party  was  seen  wending  its  way  down  to  the  river.  A 
Nile  boat  was  procured,  and  every  one  stepped  aboard. 

The  party  consisted  of  a  venerable  old  man  carrying 
a  Bible,  his  son  burdened  with  a  large  bag  containing 
medicines  of  all  descriptions,  several  ladies,  all  of  whom 
carried  some  portion  of  the  Gospel  story,  and  although 
it  was  only  six  a.m.  the  fiery  fingers  of  ancient  Ra  had 
already  tipped  the  cloudless  sky  with  golden  sunlight. 
The  tiny  boat  with  its  human  cargo  glided  swiftly 
across  the  Nile  waters,  carrying  the  little  party  safely 
over  to  the  other  side,  You  ask,  "  Where  are  they 
going  ?  and  whence  the  joy  written  upon  the  faces  of 
each  ?  Are  they  not  afraid  of  the  scorching  heat 
which  will  presently  make  them  feel  so  exhausted  ?  " 
No — for  they  are  the  messengers  of  the  Gospel,  and 
have  the  promise  of  God  that  the  sun  shall  not  smite 
them  by  day.  They  are  on  their  way  to  carry  the  glad 
tidings  of  peace  and  joy.  Let  us  ask  permission  that 
we  too  may  go  and  see  all  that  is  done  in  God's  name 
to-day.  Presently  several  donkeys,  decorated  with 
blue  and  white  glass  beads,  to  charm  away  any  danger 
which  may  be  lurking  near,  trot  up  and  they  carry  us 
to  the  railway  station  ;  soon  the  train  runs  alongside 
the  platform,  and  we  take  our  seats,  and  run  through 
the  flax  and  bean  fields  for  twenty  miles,  thus  finishing 
the  second  stage  of  our  j  ourney .  Again  we  mount  some 
gaily  caparisoned  donkeys,  and  begin  the  third  and  last 
stage  of  our  journey,  through  pasture  land,  until  we 
arrive  at  a  village,  as  usual  reposing  under  the  shelter 


52 


CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


of  the  palm  trees.  The  name  of  this  village  has  three 
letters — A,  R,  W.  It  contains  about  ten  thousand 
people.  We  are  acquainted  with  one  little  boy  from 
among  the  ten  thousand,  but  the  village  people  know 
a  great  deal  about  us,  having  heard  from  M — ,  who 
once  spent  several  months  in  the  hospital.  It  is  a 
point  of  etiquette  to  go  straight  to  the  house  of  the 
chief  man  when  entering  a  village.  When  the  host 
meets  you,  salutations  and  greetings  are  exchanged. 
"  May  your  day  be  happy,"  says  your  host,  at  the  same 
time  he  will  touch  your  hand  and  kiss  his  own,  saying, 
"  You  have  honoured  us  ;  we  really  have  missed  you  ; 
you  have  brought  light  upon  us.  Thank  God  for  your 
safety."  To  each  greeting  there  is  an  appropriate 
reply,  and  it  is  very  embarrassing  if  you  do  not  know 
their  language  to  return  the  equivalents  of  the  com- 
pliments thus  showered  upon  you. 

A  great  deal  of  time  is  spent  in  repetition  of  these  or 
similar  phrases.  You  remember,  when  the  Lord  Jesus 
was  sending  forth  His  disciples,  He  said,  "  Salute  no 
man  by  the  way,"  and  now  you  can  understand  the 
reason  why. 

After  a  time,  coffee  is  served  in  tiny  cups,  and  it  is  as 
a  tribute  to  the  host's  hospitality  that  you  drink  it. 
When  your  cup  is  empty  you  return  it  to  the  tray  pre- 
sented you  by  the  servant  who  stands  waiting,  and 
as  you  put  the  cup  down  you  say,  "  Coffee  for  ever," 
and  the  answer  is  "  May  your  life  go  on  for  ever." 
Sometimes  spoonfuls  of  jam  are  given  you,  which  you 
boys  and  girls  might  prefer  ! 

Soon  after  coffee,  food  will  be  served,  and  your  host 
compels  you  to  eat  more  than  you  really  care  for, 
adjuring  you,  by  every  one  whom  you  love,  to  eat 
this  thing  or  that.  Very  often,  after  you  would 
naturally  say,  "  Quite  sufficient,  thank  you !  "  he 


VISIT  TO  AN  EGYPTIAN  VILLAGE  53 


obliges  you  to  eat  a  large  piece  of  meat  for  his  sake,  or 
for  somebody  else's  sake,  and  persists  in  apologising 
for  the  food  as  being  unfit  for  your  honourable  presence, 
although  a  sheep  and  turkey  have  been  killed  for  the 
occasion.  Sometimes  the  eye  of  the  sheep  is  given  to 
you  as  a  great  delicacy.  I  wonder  how  we  shall  fare  on 
this  particular  visit.  We  must  not  forget  that  we  too 
are  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,  and  have  not  too  much 
time  to  spend  in  salaams.  We  are  shown  into  a  large 
guest  room,  very  simply  furnished,  and  we  drink  the 
usual  coffee.  Then  we  explain  the  reason  of  our  visit. 
The  host,  having  done  the  polite,  will  leave  us  to  the 
women's  part  of  his  household.  The  old  Catechist 
and  his  son  follow  the  host  to  his  part  of  the  house, 
and  we  are  free  to  talk  to  the  women  and  children 
around  us. 

All  through  the  rest  of  the  time  we  are  telling  the 
good  news  of  salvation,  and  the  sick  are  brought  in  and 
laid  at  our  feet.  For  some  we  have  the  needful 
remedies,  for  others  a  journey  to  the  hospital  must  be 
advised. 

At  mid-day  we  are  requested  "to  go  to  an  upper 
room  and  eat.  We  have  brought  our  own  food,  we  say, 
and  would  prefer  to  sit  in  the  open  fields.  A  shadow 
of  disappointment  crosses  the  face  of  our  host,  who 
ignores  our  remark,  and  says,  "  Come,  for  all  things 
are  ready."  Remonstrance  is  unavailing,  and  we 
follow  the  servant  to  where  a  large  flat  table  is  placed 
on  a  piece  of  matting,  and  around  it  we  are  invited 
to  sit,  upon  the  floor.  A  round  flat  loaf  is  placed  for 
each  one,  also  a  towel,  pepper,  salt,  and  native  cheese. 
Then  a  large  turkey,  which  has  been  caught,  killed  and 
cooked  since  our  arrival,  is  placed  in  the  centre,  and 
soon  every  one  is  hard  at  work,  manipulating  the 
turkey  with  his  or  her  fingers.    Just  as  we  think  we 


54  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


have  finished,  another  bird  is  placed  before  us,  and  we 
eat  a  little  more  for  the  sake  of  our  host  and  for  the 
sake  of  every  one  we  love  ! 

We  return  thanks,  and  soon  we  are  scattered  about 
the  village,  spreading  the  good  tidings  of  great  joy. 
We  go  into  one  house  and  see  a  little  child-wife,  looking 
oh,  so  sad,  and  her  friends  say,  "  Can  you  not  count 
her  stars  that  she  may  know  if  she  is  always  to  be 
unhappy  ?  Her  husband  has  beaten  and  sent  her 
away."  We  tell  her  of  the  One  who  loves  her,  and 
can  make  her  happy,  then  pass  on  and  repeat  the  story 
of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Him  who  came  to 
save.  Another  little  child  is  brought  to  us,  looking  so 
ill ;  "  We  have  tried  everything,"  say  his  friends, 
"  but  our  barbers  and  charms  cannot  cure  him,  and 
although  we  have  poured  boiling  oil  over  the  wound 
and  ironed  it  with  a  red  hot  iron  he  still  remains  ill,  and, 
indeed,  is  growing  worse."  We  tell  them  to  go  straight 
to  the  hospital,  without  delay.  On  and  on  we  go, 
until  the  sun  dips  into  the  west  and  we  remember  we 
are  far  from  home.  Donkeys  were  provided  by  our 
kind  host  for  our  return  journey,  and  a  beautiful  Arab 
steed  was  led  into  the  courtyard,  whose  saddle  was 
crimson  velvet,  and  this  was  to  be  the  seat  of  honour 
for  the  member  of  the  party  who  had  ministered  to  the 
sick. 

Late  in  the  evening  was  it  before  we  reached  our 
home  in  the  Mission  compound,  and  how  glad  we  were 
to  go  to  our  rooms,  greatly  impressed  by  all  we 
had  seen,  and  more  earnest  in  prayer  that  the  Good 
Shepherd  would  reveal  Himself  to  the  lonely  lambs 
and  sheep  of  this  other  fold. 

One  day  a  beautiful  little  girl  was  brought  from  one 
of  these  villages.  She  was  very  ill,  and  every  bed  was 
full.   What  do  you  think  her  name  was  ?    Sitt  el 


VISIT  TO  AN  EGYPTIAN  VILLAGE  55 


Kull ;  which  means  "  Lady  of  all,"  and  her  story  is  told 
in  the  following  poem  : — 

A  VILLAGE  CHILD 

"  A  little  village  maiden  fair 
Is  sitting  by  my  knee  ; 
Her  eyes  of  deepest  hazel  are. 
Her  lashes  long  and  free. 

Her  tiny  mouth  is  opening 
To  tell  its  tale  of  woe, 
The  little  face  is  pale  and  sad, 
All  clouded  is  the  brow. 

No  little  village  maiden  she, 
From  happy  Western  land, 
But  child  of  desert,  hut,  and  palm, 
In  Egypt's  scorching  sand. 

No  little  village  maiden  fair, 
Attired  like  one  of  you, 
But  bare  of  foot  and  jewel  decked, 
In  flowing  robes  of  blue. 

The  flowing  robes  are  broidered  o'er 
In  silks  of  brightest  red, 
A  twisted  veil  of  black  enfolds 
The  stately  little  head. 

No  word  of  tender  Saviour's  love 
Has  ever  reached  her  ear, 
She  nothing  knows  of  Him  who  died 
To  save  from  sin  and  fear. 

The  story  of  His  wondrous  birth, 
And  death  on  Calvary's  tree, 
A  story  is  that's  all  unknown 
To  the  maiden  at  my  knee. 

The  little  village  maiden  fair, 
A  little  sufferer  she, 
She  long  has  needed  skill  and  care, 
That  healthy  she  might  be. 


56 


CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


She  looks  up  half  confidingly, 
Half  frightened  and  half  shy  ; 
She  seems  to  trust  the  English  '  Sitt,' 
Who  waits  for  her  reply. 

'  Your  name  ?  my  little  maiden  fair, 
'  I  pray  you  tell  to  me  '  ; 
'  Lady  of  all/  she  calmly  said, 
With  childish  majesty  ! 

'  And  why  this  name  ?  '  I  wondering  said, 
And  bending  o'er  her  smiled, 
'  Because  she  lovely  is  and  good,' 
Her  village  friend  replied. 

'  And  you  have  brought  her  here  to  see, 
If  Christian  skill  avail  ?  ' 
For  two  long  years  she  suffered  has, 
And  weak  has  grown  and  pale. 

The  Doctor  here  will  do  his  best 
For  the  little  village  maid, 
But  power  to  heal  is  but  from  Him 
Who  heaven  and  earth  hath  made. 

A  little  cot  is  needed  sore 
For  the  little  maiden  fair, 
But  every  bed  is  over-full 
With  other  sick  ones  there. 

Will  little  English  children  glad 
Look  up  to  God  above, 
And  ask  Him  how  they  too  may  send 
The  tokens  of  their  love  ? 

And  ask  Him  for  the  needed  gold, 
And  shining  silver  store  ; 
That  Egypt's  little  sufferers 
May  never  suffer  more. 

But  wrapped  around  with  love  and  care, 
May  gently  tended  be, 
And  learn  of  Him  who  when  on  earth 
Said,  '  Bring  them  unto  Me.'  " 

H.  E.  M.  S.  C. 


THE  MISSION  PLAYGROUND 


AN  EGYPTIAN  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  57 


CHAPTER  XIII 

AN   EGYPTIAN   SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

It  was  suggested  in  a  previous  chapter  that  you  boys 
and  girls  might  like  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Mission 
premises,  with  their  promise  of  the  dawn  of  a  New  Era 
in  the  history  of  Egypt,  and  see  all  the  brown,  yellow, 
and  sometimes  black  children  who  gather  Sunday  by 
Sunday  to  learn  about  the  Christian  religion. 

This  one  hour  and  a  half  on  Sunday  afternoon  is 
their  only  experience  of  school  life,  so  you  must  not  be 
shocked  if  you  hear  a  lot  of  little  voices  talking  apace, 
and  see  a  number  of  little  feet  which  have  never  been 
taught  how  to  keep  still,  and  many  little  pairs  of  hands 
waving  about  in  all  directions.  The  room  in  which 
they  are  gathered  is  used  during  the  week  for  sick 
people,  but  on  Saturday  it  has  a  special  tidying-up, 
ready  for  Sunday  use. 

At  two  p.m.  the  door-keeper  takes  the  bell  (and  you 
remember  what  I  said  about  the  verb  14  to  beat," — 
although  he  shakes  its  tongue  to  and  fro  as  we  should 
do,  he  is  said  to  beat  it),  the  beating  of  the  bell  has  the 
desired  effect,  and  presently  there  rises  up  from  the 
edge  of  the  river  a  crowd  of  some  of  the  dirtiest  and  yet 
some  of  the  prettiest  little  boys  and  girls  you  ever  saw. 
Nearly  every  little  girl  carries  perched  on  her  shoulder 
a  baby  brother  or  sister.  They  rush  without  ceremony 
into  the  compound,  but  there  they  are  intercepted  and 
made  to  walk  quietly  and  orderly  into  the  classes  pro- 
vided for  them. 

A  kind  Syrian  nurse  from  the  hospital  takes  her  place 
in  a  class  of  some  thirty  or  forty  girls,  and  if  only  you 
could  peep  behind  the  scenes  you  would  hear  such  sad 


58  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


stories,  connected  with  the  lives  of  several  of  her  girls. 
Some  have  been  married  and  cast  aside  by  their 
husbands  for  some  trivial  fault,  and  then  how  glad  they 
are  once  more  to  find  their  way  back  to  school,  where 
they  know  they  are  loved  and  cared  for. 

A  blind  girl  sits  among  a  class  of  the  very  naughtiest 
but  sweetest  little  folk,  who  try  her  patience  to  the 
utmost.  A  kind  missionary  takes  another  class  and 
I  am  sure  that,  although  she  is  accustomed  to  teaching 
all  through  the  week,  she  has  never  taught  such  pieces 
of  humanity  as  those  before  her.  Still  another  class  of 
mischievous  little  boys  is  taught  by  one  of  the  day- 
school  boys,  who  sometimes  has  to  appeal  to  the 
superintendent  to  restore  order  !  Now  we  are  going 
to  sing  that  hymn  we  spoke  of.  You  will  find  it  on  the 
opposite  page. 

Be  sure  you  begin  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  page, 
and  open  the  book  at  the  end,  which  we  call  the 
beginning.  "  Oh  dear,"  you  say,  "  Is  this  singing  ?  " 
Yes  !  This  is  Egyptian  singing,  you  must  try  not  to 
mind  if  we  sink  to  "  D  "  instead  of  clinging  on  to 
"  E  "  !  Before  we  have  finished,  the  children  think  it 
is  lovely. 

Now  the  bell  has  to  be  beaten,  gently  too,  and  after 
much  noise,  all  shaggy  heads  are  bent  in  prayer,  then 
sentence  by  sentence  the  Lord's  Prayer  is  said,  and  a 
very  elongated  "  Amen  "  comes  in  at  the  end.  Now 
three  rooms  are  occupied  instead  of  one,  for  if  all  the 
classes  were  kept  in  one  room  the  noise  would  be  deafen- 
ing. What  are  all  those  dirty  little  bags  hung  around 
the  children's  necks  ?  Ah  !  those  bags  contain  the 
most  precious  thing  the  children  have,  viz.,  an  old 
Christmas  card  which  serves  as  a  register.  If  by  some 
unfortunate  chance  that  ticket  gets  lost  genuine  tears 
form  a  streamlet  down  the  troubled  little  face  of  the 


AN  EGYPTIAN  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  59 


3tf  £S 


jc Jfi  fSS  ,*£ 
>V;  :^  ^ 

* 


.     -  V 


TRANSLATION  IN  ARABIC  OF  "  JESUS  LOVES  ME" 


60  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


owner,  for  he  or  she  knows,  it  is  just  a  mere  chance  if 
the  superintendent  will  relent  so  far  as  to  provide 
another,  and  without  it  admittance  to  the  yearly 
Christmas  tree  is  a  thing  impossible. 

These  registers  are  marked,  and  a  tiny  box  is  handed 
round  to  receive  many  little  widow's  mites,  for,  although 
the  children  are  of  the  poorest,  we  try  to  teach  them 
that  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.  And  now 
all  are  in  one  room  again,  and  a  time  is  spent  in  cate- 
chising the  whole  school  so  as  to  make  sure  they  have 
been  listening  to  their  lesson.  The  story  had  been  told 
of  the  ten  lepers,  and  the  ingratitude  of  the  nine,  who 
went  away  without  saying  thank  you,  enlarged  upon. 
Z — ,  a  very  regular  member,  looked  up  and  with  glowing 
eyes  said  "  I  would  very  much  like  to  say  thank  you 
to  Jesus  for  all  He  has  done  for  me,  but  I  am  afraid  He 
would  not  care  to  bend  His  hand  from  heaven,  to  let  a 
little  girl  like  me  kiss  it." 

Another  Sunday  the  lesson  was  about  Daniel  in  the 
lions'  den.  A  small  scarlet-robed  child  with  very  be- 
grimed little  face  and  laughing  eyes,  tells  the  story  in 
some  such  way  as  this  : — 

"  Daniel  had  many  foes,  but  he  was  determined  to 
be  good,  in  spite  of  all  the  fun  that  was  made  of  him, 
and  when  at  last  the  king  ordered  him  to  be  put  in  the 
lions'  den,  he  went  quietly  without  cursing  anybody — 
but  that  night  sleep  ran  away  from  the  king,  who  could 
not  even  close  his  eyes,  and  early  the  next  morning 
he  said  to  his  servant,  '  Run  quickly  and  see  what  has 
happened  to  Daniel,  and  open  the  door  for  him  if  you 
find  him  alive.'  So  the  servants  went  quickly,  and 
one  who  was  more  brave  than  the  rest,  gave  a  sharp 
rap  at  the  door,  and  called  out,  '  Has  no  lion  eaten 
you  yet,  O  Daniel  ?  '  The  answer  came  back  '  No  !  ' 
'  Then  the  king  says  you  may  go — and  no  one  shall 


AN  EGYPTIAN  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  61 


prevent  you  from  worshipping  your  God,  who  has 
saved  you  from  the  lion's  mouth.'  " 

We  follow  one  of  the  Sunday  school  girls  into  her 
home,  she  may  no  longer  go  to  school,  as  she  is  not 
allowed  to  go  outside  her  own  house.  She  has  been 
married,  her  short  childhood  is  over.  Is  she  happy  ? 
No  !  She  is  ill,  and  as  she  cannot  cook  the  food  and 
wash  the  clothes,  her  husband  and  all  his  relatives  are 
angry  with  her.  Her  husband's  sister  is  greatly  pro- 
voked because  Praise  will  not  return  evil  for  evil,  and 
when  taunted  with  being  afraid  to  say  angry  words, 
she  quietly  replies,  "  It  is  not  that,  but  since  I  went  to 
the  Sunday  school  I  have  forgotten  how  to  quarrel." 

Another  little  girl  is  all  eagerness  to  speak.  Her 
name  means  "  Cast  Out,"  and  when  her  turn  comes, 
she  says,  "  I  love  pickles,  oh  !  so  much,  and  when  my 
mother  said,  '  Go  to  the  market  and  bring  back  pickles 
in  vinegar,'  I  used  to  dip  my  fingers  into  the  vinegar 
all  the  way  home, — they  would  creep  into  the  basin  in 
spite  of  myself, — but  now  since  my  teacher  has  told 
me  it  is  like  stealing,  I  try  not  to  even  look  at  the  basin, 
but  run  all  the  way  home  with  it  to  my  mother." 

Now  the  bell  is  beaten  again,  and  another  hymn  is  to 
be  sung.  We  choose  "  Come,  quickly  to  Jesus,"  (don't 
forget  where  to  begin  !) .  Now  silence  reigns  ;  a  closing 
prayer  is  offered  ;  the  children  are  commended  to 
God,  and  they  pass  beyond  our  keeping  for  another 
week.  Some  go  home,  and  tell  of  all  they  have  heard, 
fulfilling  the  prophecy  : — "  A  little  child  shall  lead 
them." 

How  glad  and  thankful  we  are  they  have  not  passed 
beyond  the  care  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  who  gathers 
these  lambs  one  by  one  in  His  arms,  and  carries  them 
in  His  bosom. 


62  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  CHRISTMAS  TREE 

Somewhere,  either  in  the  Carpathian  Mountains,  or  on 
the  heights  of  the  Austrian  hills,  stood  a  fir-tree.  Only 
one  among  a  number  of  others,  he  grew  up  well  shaped 
and  rounded  and  with  a  long  leading  shoot  pointing 
to  the  blue  sky  above. 

Winter  snows  rested  upon  him,  and  summer  suns 
shone  on  him,  all  in  due  course.  But  a  day  came  when 
a  forester  arrived  with  a  sharp  axe  and  hewed  him  to 
the  ground.  Poor  fir-tree,  what  a  shock  to  his  feelings  ! 
Yesterday  standing  upright,  gracefully  outlined  against 
the  clear  blue  sky,  drinking  in  the  dew  of  the  early 
morning,  and  at  the  close  of  the  day  casting  wistful 
shadows  in  the  light  of  the  setting  sun,  and  to-day 
lying  flat  and  limp  on  the  sloping  mountain  side.  The 
sharp  blow  that  severed  his  stem,  left  him  unable  to 
support  himself,  and  he  would  have  to  lie  helpless  on  the 
ground  unless  he  would  allow  himself  to  be  nailed  to 
a  wooden  beam.  Was  this  to  be  his  lot  ?  evidently 
not  !  for  there  came  a  day  when  he  was  lifted  up  and 
carried  from  his  home  in  the  mountains  down  to  the 
coast  where  he  was  shipped  to  a  sunny  land  in  the 
East  across  the  seas.  What  was  to  be  the  end  of  him 
he  gave  up  trying  to  imagine,  when  he  found  himself 
standing  on  a  house  top,  of  all  places,  in  a  large  com- 
pound. The  sun,  the  winter  sun  be  it  known,  shone 
on  his  branches  and  seemed  to  scorch  him  in  its  rays, 
for  no  refreshing  stream  could  revive  him  now,  even  if 
it  could  have  reached  him,  and  still  he  stood — waiting 
— waiting — waiting  ! 

Now  if  only  he  could  have  peeped  over  the  wall  into 


THE  CHRISTMAS  TREE 


63 


a  narrow  lane  leading  to  what  was  once  called  ancient 
Babylon,  a  knowledge  of  his  final  destiny  might  have 
revealed  itself  to  him,  for  there  stood  all  those  children 
we  went  to  see  at  the  Sunday  school,  and  they  too  were 
waiting,  waiting  ! 

Fifty-two  Sundays  have  passed  since  last  there  stood 
a  fir-tree  on  the  same  spot ;  more  than  twice  as  many 
little  bags  containing  the  precious  little  card,  which 
has  served  as  a  register  all  through  the  year,  have  to 
be  gathered  in,  marks  counted  up,  the  merits  of 
each  child  considered,  a  day  spent  in  a  room  where 
stowed  away  are  lovely  dolls  and  toys  of  all  descriptions, 
and  then  little  persons  with  eager  hands  are  summoned 
on  a  certain  day  to  receive  a  card  of  admittance,  in 
order  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  Mr  Fir-tree.  If 
only  he  could  have  realised  how  eagerly  he  had  been 
watched  for,  he  perhaps  wouldn't  have  minded  quite 
so  much  being  taken  away  from  his  home  below  the 
snow-peaked  mountains,  but,  of  course,  being  a  tree  he 
couldn't  quite  understand.  The  fantasia  day  has  come 
at  last  and,  although  the  doors  are  not  to  be  opened 
until  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  children  have 
been  dancing  for  joy  since  soon  after  sunrise.  How 
they  long  for  a  peep  into  the  large  hall,  whither  the  fir- 
tree  has  been  transferred,  and  where  busy  hands  are 
loading  his  branches  with  things  good  to  gaze  upon. 
In  fact  his  appearance  has  so  changed,  you  would 
hardly  recognise  him.  Frogs,  skipping-ropes,  water- 
cans,  funny  little  men  driving  mail-carts,  wonderful 
trains,  dolls  dressed  in  woollen  costumes,  pink  bows, 
terra  cotta  and  blue,  doilies  all  in  wThite,  with  fair  hair, 
costumes  of  red  and  blue  satin,  or  dark  red  and  white 
flannel,  mixed  with  blue  and  drab  velvet,  sailor  cos- 
tumes, etc.,  as  well  as  all  manner  of  toys  for  boys, 
were  clinging  with  all  their  might  to  the  branches  of  the 


64  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


poor  fir-tree.  I  am  sure  he  would  soon  have  had  to 
cry  out  that  he  could  hold  no  more.  A  close  observer 
might  have  seen  his  arms  bending  beneath  the  weight. 

The  only  thing  which  kept  up  the  spirits  of  the  fir- 
tree  was  a  surprise  which  awaited  him,  for,  wonder  of 
wonders  !  he  saw  in  another  corner  of  the  room  one  of 
his  own  brothers,  another  fir-tree,  loaded  with  bags 
of  sweets,  and  oranges,  and  candles  !  I  don't  know 
what  they  said  to  each  other,  but  I  am  sure  he  was 
delighted  to  see  a  relative  of  his  own,  and  strangely 
enough  a  relative  engaged  in  business  similar  to  his. 

At  last  all  the  doors  are  thrown  open,  and  the 
eager  throng  of  waiting  children  is  admitted  by  ones 
and  twos.  They  look  with  wondering  eyes  at  all  the 
daintily  dressed  little  maidens  with  fascinating  smiles 
revealing  rows  of  white  teeth,  but  they  soon  turn  to 
another  treat  awaiting  them, — a  magic  lantern,  which 
shows  them  a  series  of  pictures  summing  up  the 
lessons  of  their  Sunday  school. 

Some  of  the  children  have  attended  for  years,  some 
for  months,  and  how  much  they  have  learned  may  be 
understood  by  the  evangelist  as  they  gaze  on  the  scenes 
of  the  Life  of  our  Lord,  depicted  on  the  white  wall  in 
front  of  them,  and  give  eager  answers  full  of  interest  and 
intelligence  as  the  pictures  appear  before  them  in  turn : — 

The  Good  Shepherd,  The  Storm  on  the  Lake,  The 
Good  Samaritan,  and  the  lovely  picture  of  the  Re- 
surrection from  the  church  at  Molde  in  Norway. 
Pointing  to  the  latter  the  evangelist  asks,  "  Who  was 
not  there  when  the  women  came  to  the  grave  ?  " 

"  The  Messiah  !  "  "  Why  ?  "  "  He  had  risen." 
"  Who  was  He  ?  "  "  The  Son  of  God."  "  Why  did  He 
come  to  earth  ?  "  "  To  save  us."  "  What  from  ?  " 
"  Our  sins." 

"  Who  watched   by   the  grave  ?  "     "  Soldiers." 


THE  CHRISTMAS  TREE  65 


"  Who  came  and  rolled  away  the  stone  ?  "  "  The 
Angel  "  ;  and  so  on  to  many  other  questions. 

Then  came  a  pause  for  prayer,  while  each  little  one  put 
her  hand  over  her  eyes,  and  all  voices  joined  together 
in  the  Lord's  Prayer.  After  that  the  hymn  "  Around 
the  Throne  of  God  in  Heaven  "  was  sung  heartily. 
Then  the  candles  were  lighted,  and  needless  to  say  at 
that  moment  the  fir-tree  gave  himself  up  for  lost !  and 
a  hush  of  expectancy  fell  on  the  assembled  children. 

In  front,  by  the  two  trees,  two  middle-aged  women 
are  sitting,  both  of  whom,  patients  in  the  hospital,  had 
learned  to  love  the  Master,  and  delighted  to  hear  of  His 
grace.  Now  a  bell  rings,  and  Z — ,  who  said  she  would 
like  to  kiss  the  hand  of  lesus,  is  called.  She  steps 
forward,  and  a  doll  in  white  lace,  a  special  gift  from 
home,  is  placed  in  her  delighted  hands.  She  kisses  the 
hand  of  the  lady  who  presents  the  gift,  and  lifts  it  to 
her  forehead,  the  Eastern  mode  of  saying  "  Thank 
you,"  and  departs  to  her  seat. 

Then  one  by  one  their  names  are  called,  and  they 
come  up  to  the  table — Fatima  and  Nafeesa,  Labeeba 
and  Kareema,  and  other  names  too  complicated  to  be 
written  down  here.  Faces  glowed  and  eyes  sparkled 
as  the  tide  of  rejoicing  rose  higher  and  higher.  Now 
for  the  boys'  turn,  and  the  wonderful  fir-tree  produced 
beautifully  equipped  gun-boats  fit  for  the  Japanese, 
ordinary  boats  and  balls  for  equally  delighted  owners. 

And  so  the  afternoon  wore  away  and  sunset  came, 
and  each  little  one  went  to  her  humble  home  with 
arms  full  of  treasures.  "  We  are  so  happy,"  said 
they,  and  their  faces  betokened  the  truth  of  their 
confession.  "  Look,  lady,  at  my  bride  !  "  "  And  at 
mine  !  "  "  And  see  her  stockings  and  her  hat  !  " 
While  one  diligently  searched  under  the  form  for  a 
lost  shoe  ! 


E 


66  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


And  so  they  passed  out  under  the  waving  palms, 
darkness  closed  in,  the  candles  burned  low,  and  night 
wrapped  its  shadows  around  the  fir-tree.  And  here  we 
leave  him,  having  finished  his  short,  but  bright,  busy, 
and  useful  life  in  the  sunny  East. 

And  what  about  the  children,  who  are  sleeping,  each 
little  head  resting  contentedly  upon  her  earthy  pillow, 
with  a  dusky  little  arm  encircling  her  new  and  much 
loved  treasure,  the  gift  of  which  has  not  been  made 
without  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  some  little  child  in  the 
home  land  ? 

Shall  we  leave  them,  as  we  leave  the  fir-tree,  knowing 
his  life  to  be  finished  ?  No,  a  thousand  times — No. 
We  must  be  like  the  dear  nurse  who  was  always 
busy,  so  much  so,  that  her  little  charge  said  to  her, 
"  Nurse,  I  think  you  must  be  an  Angel,  for  you  rest 
not  day  nor  night." 

You  boys  and  girls  must  not  rest  until  the  children 
of  other  lands  are  gathered  safely  under  the  sheltering 
care  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

We  must  go  on  toiling  and  battling  with  the  awful 
dangers,  and  darkness,  and  ignorance,  which  surround 
the  lives  of  Egyptian,  Chinese  and  Indian  children. 

But  all  our  toiling  and  battling  will  be  of  little  use 
indeed,  unless  children  of  England  build  walls  of  prayer 
around  them. 

If  every  girl  and  boy  who  reads  these  pages  would  ask 
God  to  set  apart  the  soul  of  some  little  Egyptian  child 
to  serve  as  a  star  in  their  crown  in  heaven,  how  bright 
those  crowns  in  heaven  would  shine  ! 


THE  STORY  OF  THREE  SISTERS  67 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  STORY  OF  THREE  SISTERS 

In  a  very  dark  corner  of  a  large  Mohammedan  city  in 
Egypt  there  lived  three  little  girls,  named  respectively 
Knowledge,  Excellent,  and  Glorious.  Knowledge,  the 
eldest,  was  kept  busy  at  home  helping  her  mother  and 
nursing  the  babies. 

A  missionary  was  visiting  in  this  district  and  she  soon 
made  herself  known  and  beloved,  and  these  three  little 
girls  with  such  striking  names  won  a  large  part  of  her 
heart. 

By  and  by  the  parents  were  persuaded  to  send  their 
little  daughters  to  the  Mission  school  (in  spite  of  the 
general  opinion  that  little  girls  are  not  worth  teaching) , 
and  it  was  there  that  they  learned  about  Jesus  the 
Saviour  and  Friend  of  children. 

I  think  it  will  be  nice  to  let  them  each  tell  their  own 
story. 

This  is  what  Knowledge  says  : — 

"I,  Knowledge,  am  the  eldest  among  my  sisters. 
When  I  was  nine  years  old  my  father  allowed  me  to  go 
to  school  with  my  youngest  sister.  It  was  a  great 
sacrifice  for  mother  to  have  to  spare  me  as  I  was  very 
useful  to  her,  especially  in  taking  care  of  her  babies  for 
her.  I  got  on  very  steadily  in  all  my  lessons  at  school 
and  my  teachers  were  pleased  with  me,  and  I  became 
quite  satisfied  with  myself !  One  day  a  missionary 
from  China  came  to  our  school,  and  she  told  us  of  a  little 
Chinese  girl's  conversion  and  baptism.  That  same 
day  I  went  to  my  teacher  and  asked  if  I  could  imitate 
that  girl,  and  it  came  to  pass  that  after  a  good  deal  of 
preparation  I  was  allowed  to  be  baptised. 


68  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


"  By  this  time  both  my  parents  had  died,  and  I  was 
sent  to  help  another  missionary  to  nurse  and  teach  the 
sick  people  in  the  hospital. 

"  Now  I  am  married  and  have  two  little  children  of 
my  own,  whom  I  am  teaching  to  love  the  Saviour." 

This  is  the  story  of  Excellent : — 

"  The  chief  reason  why  I  was  sent  to  school,  was 
because  I  was  extremely  naughty,  and  I  was  giving 
everybody  a  good  deal  of  trouble.  I  ran  away  from 
school  several  times,  and  I  was  always  being  told  not  to 
swear. 

"  O  dear  !  you  cannot  imagine  how  great  the  tempta- 
tion is  to  swear  in  this  land  of  Mohammedanism.  I 
knew  that  many  prayers  were  offered  for  me,  that  I 
might  become  a  good  girl,  but  I  always  tried  to  stamp 
out  this  influence. 

"  One  day  I  felt  a  very  strange  spirit  within  me,  that 
spoke  to  me  of  all  my  past  sins. 

"  I  then  asked  for  preparation  for  baptism,  and  the 
spirit  of  evil  left  me.  In  time  I  was  baptised,  and  after 
I  had  finished  my  school  days  I  was  sent  to  work  with 
my  sister  in  the  C.  M.  S.  hospital,  where  I  spent  five 
years.  Then  I  was  sent  back  to  work  in  my  old  school 
*  until  I  was  married.  Wasn't  it  kind  of  Jesus  to  write 
my  name  down  in  heaven  ?  " 

This  is  the  story  of  Glorious  : — 

"  When  I  was  a  tiny  little  girl,  only  six  years  old,  my 
father  died,  and  I  was  taken  to  school  to  be  with  my 
two  elder  sisters.  There  were  many  tiny  children  who 
became  my  dearest  friends.  We  were  all  in  the  babies 
class,  and  we  had  a  young  teacher  who  gave  us  our 
daily  scripture  lesson,  and  from  her  we  learned  the 
story  of  our  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ.  As  I  grew  older  I 
became  one  of  the  close  lovers  of  Jesus  ;  by  that  time 
I  could  read,  and  knew  my  Bible  well,  and  knew  that 


THE  STORY  OF  THREE  SISTERS  69 


the  Saviour  wished  me  to  confess  Him  openly,  and 
acknowledge  my  faith  before  the  whole  congregation 
of  the  church.  For  this  I  was  prepared  for  my  baptism, 
which  took  place  at  Easter  1905.  Truly,  I  cannot  for- 
get the  joy  and  peace  I  felt  from  that  day.  Two  years 
afterwards  I  was  confirmed.  My  baptism  and  con- 
firmation took  place  during  my  first  two  years  at  the 
training-class,  and  in  order  to  gain  a  teacher's  certifi- 
cate I  spent  another  two  years  at  school,  and  then  I 
taught  for  a  year  in  the  school  where  I  was  first 
taught  myself.  After  which  time  I  was  married. 
"  It  is  always  joy  and  peace  in  believing  in  Jesus." 

«  LORD,  WHAT  WILT  THOU  HAVE  ME  TO  DO  ?  " 
acts  ix.  6 

"  Lord  Jesus,  Thou  who  lovest 
Each  little  child  like  me, 
Oh,  take  my  life  and  use  it, 
And  let  me  shine  for  Thee  j 
Oh,  give  me  bits  of  work  to  do, 
To  show  how  much  I  love  Thee  too, 

I  know  in  distant  countries, 

Beyond  the  deep  blue  sea, 

Are  many  little  children, 

Thou  lovest  just  like  me. 

But  they  have  never  heard  Thy  name, 

And  do  not  know  that  Jesus  came. 

They  know  not  that  Thou  cleansest 

Each  stain  of  guilt  away, 

Or  how  Thou  safely  leadest, 

Thy  children  day  by  day  ; 

They  do  not  know  they  have  a  share, 

In  that  bright  home  Thou  dost  prepare. 

Lord,  let  me  send  Thy  message 
Across  the  deep  blue  sea3 


70  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


To  tell  those  little  children. 
What  Thou  hast  done  for  me  ; 
Oh,  show  me  Lord  what  /  can  do, 
That  they  may  know  mid  love  Thee  too" 

M.  W, 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  STORY  OF  AN  EGYPTIAN  DOG  WHOSE  MASTER 
WAS  A  PRISONER 

It  seems  to  me  that  a  great  deal  has  been  said  about 
children  in  this  book,  and  as  a  dog  is  so  often  the  friend 
of  children  I  thought  I  should  like  to  add  my  story, 
although  in  some  respects  it  is  not  a  very  creditable  one. 

I  was  born  while  my  master  was  in  prison,  not  much 
of  a  wazeefa,1 1  hear  some  of  you  say. 

My  home  was  in  a  remote  village  with  a  very  funny 
name,  beginning  with  the  first  and  ending  with  the  last 
letter  of  the  alphabet. 

I  was  one  of  a  number  of  puppies  born  on  a  hot 
summer's  day,  and  it  was  decided  I  was  the  least  nice 
looking  of  the  lot.  There  was  a  very  pronounced 
snubbiness  about  my  nose  which  gave  me  rather  a 
vicious  appearance,  the  only  nice  thing  about  me  was 
my  coat,  which  was  a  glossy  brown. 

I  was  never  washed  as  a  puppy,  as  my  master's  wife 
was  never  very  keen  on  baths.  In  fact,  a  bath  to  some 
people  I  know  was  equivalent  to  being  drowned  in  the 
river. 

I  expect  you  would  like  to  know  the  reason  for  my 
master's  imprisonment ;  people,  especially  children, 
like  to  know  the  reason  of  everything.  I  once  heard 
of  a  little  boy  who  asked  the  reason  why  so  often  that 

1  Position. 


STORY  OF  AN  EGYPTIAN  DOG  71 


somebody  wrote  about  him,  and  called  him  "  The 
Wollypeg  of  Why." 

One  day  my  master  had  some  business  to  settle  with 
a  number  of  other  men.  The  whole  live- long  day  they 
talked  and  quarrelled,  until  their  hearts  grew  so  full  of 
hatred  one  towards  the  other  that  my  master  foolishly 
took  up  his  gun  and  deliberately  shot  one  of  the  men, 
killing  him  on  the  spot.  Even  little  children  have 
fire-arms  in  Egypt,  which  is  a  very  dangerous  thing. 
Great  trouble  arose,  as  you  may  imagine,  and  the  end 
of  it  was  that  my  master  was  taken  off  to  prison,  fol- 
lowed by  wailing  women  and  children  making  a  noise 
the  like  of  which  you  have  never  heard  in  England. 

The  children  looked  on  in  amazement  while  the 
women  covered  their  faces  with  Nile  mud  and  threw 
showers  of  dust  over  their  heads. 

Of  course  the  judge  said  my  master  was  to  stay  in 
prison  all  his  life,  and  quite  right  too,  but  two  years 
afterwards  something  happened. 

A  notable  man  named  Arabi  Pasha  revolted  against 
the  ruling  power  of  Egypt,  and  one  of  the  orders  he 
gave  was  that  all  prison  doors  were  to  be  opened  and 
the  prisoners  set  free — so  one  day  quite  unexpectedly 
my  master  returned  to  his  village,  much  to  the  joy  of  his 
household  and  the  family  of  puppies.  My  master  was 
like  Jacob  in  one  respect,  in  that  he  begat  twelve  sons. 

Everything  went  well  until  my  master  got  ill, — but 
he  was  a  sensible  man  and  went  to  a  hospital  he  had 
heard  of,  and  became  great  friends  with  the  doctor  and 
the  nurse. 

When  he  got  better  he  went  back  to  his  village,  and 
just  about  that  time  I  believe  the  English  came  to 
settle  in  Egypt,  and  an  order  was  issued  that  all 
prisoners  who  had  been  set  free  at  the  time  of  Arabi's 
revolt  were  to  be  re-taken,  and  it  was  a  great  shock  to 


72 


CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


my  master,  whose  character  was  excellent  except  for 
that  one  crime.  A  soldier  arrived  one  day  on  horse- 
back, and  an  enemy  of  my  master  gave  the  clue  to  his 
whereabouts,  so  he  was  soon  under  escort  and  once 
more  on  his  way  to  prison. 

I  joined  in  and  did  a  lot  of  barking,  while  the  women 
wailed  and  beat  their  faces,  and  the  children  screamed 
and  played  about  in  turn. 

Heavy  chains  were  put  on  the  ankles  and  wrists  of  the 
prisoner  and  he  was  made  to  cut  stone  all  day  in  the 
hot  sun. 

Some  years  passed  and  my  master's  brother  became 
ill,  some  said  it  was  through  worrying  about  his  relative 
being  in  prison,  so  he  also  went  to  the  hospital,  and  it 
was  then  the  doctor  heard  of  his  old  friend  and  patient 
having  been  taken  to  prison  again  and,  of  course,  he 
was  sorry  about  it. 

At  the  end  of  the  Moslem  fast,  a  petition  was  sent 
to  the  Khedive,  who  sometimes  granted  a  free  pardon 
at  that  time  to  a  prisoner  whose  character  could  be 
testified  to  as  being  good. 

This  paper,  petitioning  my  master's  release,  was  sent 
in.  Time  went  on,  and  those  concerned  were  almost 
in  despair  of  getting  an  answer.  When  suddenly  one 
Friday  afternoon  my  master  appeared  at  the  hospital 
door,  released,  much  to  the  astonishment  of  every  one, 
and  there  the  two  brothers  met,  fell  on  each  other's 
neck,  and  kissed  ;  doesn't  it  remind  you  of  the  story  of 
the  Prodigal  Son. 

Now  it  happened  after  this  that  the  doctor,  nurse, 
and  a  few  others  were  invited  to  my  master's  house. 
A  great  feast  was  made  for  them,  and  I  well  remember 
how  I  longed  for  the  eye  of  the  sheep  which  my 
master  gave  as  a  tit-bit  to  the  doctor,  I  am  sure  the 
doctor  would  like  to  have  given  it  to  me  on  the  quiet, 


THE   MASTER  AND  HIS  DOC, 


STORY  OF  AN  EGYPTIAN  DOG  73 


but  I  was  not  allowed  to  come  anywhere  near  the  mat 
where  the  food  was  spread,  as  dogs  in  Egypt  are  con- 
sidered unclean.  I  had  a  cousin  named  Arabi  who 
lived  on  a  house-boat,  and  he  was  a  great  nuisance 
to  the  captain,  because  every  time  he  spread  his  mat 
and  knelt  to  say  his  prayers,  Arabi  made  for  his  ten 
toes,  which  peeped  invitingly  out  from  under  his  blue 
gallabeea.1  The  captain  would  then  have  to  go  and 
wash  himself  over  again,  because  he  couldn't  say  his 
prayers  if  a  dog  had  touched  him  and  thus  made  him 
unclean. 

Well,  it  was  at  this  feast  my  master  talked  about  me 
to  the  nurse  who  came  with  the  doctor.  She  was 
passionately  fond  of  animals,  especially  dogs,  and  it 
was  decided  I  should  become  her  property,  so  eventu- 
ally I  found  myself  in  entirely  new  surroundings.  The 
place  was  called  the  Mission  compound. 

My  new  mistress  was  splendid,  she  knew  exactly 
how  to  treat  dogs,  but  it  was  a  disadvantage  in  some 
ways  living  on  Mission  premises,  because  you  had  to  be 
so  careful  whom  you  barked  at.  In  fact,  I  was  always 
being  told  to  be  quiet,  and  I  could  not  say  how  many 
times  I  resolved  to  give  up  barking,  but  all  my  vows 
fled  to  the  breezy  winds  the  moment  I  saw  a  person 
enter  the  gates  in  a  gallabeea. 

You  can  have  no  idea  what  an  unspeakable  tempta- 
tion those  flowing  garments  are  to  a  dog  of  my  nature. 
My  ambition  was  to  catch  the  garment  and  bite  a  piece 
of  the  man's  leg  at  the  same  time.  I  wasn't  always 
caught  doing  this  sort  of  thing,  but  when  I  was,  I  was 
put  at  once  into  Coventry.  A  Syrian  lady  and  her 
little  girl  came  to  call  on  a  friend  of  my  mistress,  and  I 
don't  know  how  it  happened,  but  I  suddenly  caught 
the  little  girl's  hand  in  my  mouth,  which  act  caused 
1  Flowing  garment. 


74  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


such  consternation  and  dismay  that  I  was  beaten  on 
the  spot ;  the  beating  didn't  hurt  very  much,  but  it 
was  the  public  humiliation  I  felt  more  than  anything. 
In  spite  of  everything  I  thoroughly  enjoyed  my  life  in 
the  compound,  my  mistress  fed  me  well  and  gave  me 
quite  a  nice-looking  bed  to  sleep  in.  I  had  a  habit  of 
barking  in  my  sleep,  which  wasn't  altogether  convenient, 
as  it  woke  up  the  people  in  the  next  house.  One  day 
I  ran  outside  the  gate  and  some  boys  took  me  for  their 
own  dog,  and  I  was  lost  to  the  compound  for  many 
weeks.  The  architect  who  used  to  build  in  the  com- 
pound recognised  me  as  I  was  carried  in  the  arms  of 
an  Egyptian  fellah  1  in  the  heart  of  the  great  city  of 
Cairo.  I  had  escaped  from  the  boys  only  to  be  caught 
again.  This  fellah  was  asked  how  much  he  would  take 
for  me,  and  sold  me  to  the  architect  for  the  trifling  sum 
of  one  shilling. 

How  glad  I  was  to  get  back  to  my  mistress,  she 
seemed  to  me  the  only  one  at  that  time  who  knew  how 
to  treat  dogs,  and  I  had  a  splendid  time  chasing  cats 
and  strange  dogs  out  of  the  compound. 

Sometimes  I  became  the  victim  of  an  optical  delusion 
and  ran  after  a  gallabeea,  acting  at  the  time  under  a 
strong  imagination  that  I  was  chasing  someone  like 
myself  out  of  the  compound. 

My  mistress  and  her  friend  had  each  a  bicycle,  and 
occasionally  they  went  for  a  ride  to  the  pyramids. 
I  was  once  invited  to  go  with  them  ;  we  crossed  over 
the  Nile  in  a  boat,  and  soon  were  spinning  along  the 
road  with  its  border  of  shady  acacia  trees.  I  had 
always  been  famous  for  quick  running,  but  that  day 
my  mistress  and  her  friend  seemed  so  glad  to  leave  a 
compound  full  of  sick  people  behind,  that  they  sped  like 
lightning  along  the  road,  and  although  I  tried  my 

1  Farmer. 


STORY  OF  AN  EGYPTIAN  DOG  75 


best  I  could  not  keep  pace  with  them,  so  I  gave  up 
the  outing,  turned  my  face  homeward,  and  arrived 
at  the  river  side  just  in  time  to  catch  the  next  boat 
back. 

My  mistress  became  anxious  when  she  found  I  was 
missing,  but  the  boat  man  told  her  it  was  all  right.  I 
had  crossed  over  and  gone  home,  where  she  found  me 
still  panting  from  my  exertions. 

After  that  I  preferred  to  go  alone,  and  nearly  every 
week  I  took  a  tram  ride  on  my  own  account,  and 
visited  one  of  the  Mission  boarding-schools,  and 
upon  those  occasions  I  walked  according  to  hygienic 
principles,  held  my  nose  high  in  the  air  and  sniffed  in 
all  I  could  of  the  breezes. 

Sometimes  I  was  driven  off  the  tram,  but  this  hap 
pened  only  when  I  touched  a  very  particular  Moslem. 
I  sometimes  arranged  a  holiday  for  myself.  Once  I 
went  fifteen  miles  by  train  and  passed  the  place  where 
my  old  master  was  kept  a  prisoner,  and  it  was  natural 
I  should  take  an  interest  in  all  those  poor  men  I  saw, 
working  in  the  hot  sun  with  the  heavy  chains  encircling 
their  wrists  and  ankles. 

The  secretary  of  the  Mission  to  which  I  belonged 
lived  at  the  place  I  went  to,  and  he  never  seemed  to 
get  over  his  surprise  at  seeing  me  arrive  all  alone.  In 
spite  of  my  mistress's  oft-repeated  threats  to  send  me 
away  on  account  of  my  incurable  propensity  for  bark- 
ing, I  lived  a  number  of  years  in  the  compound.  I  saw 
people  come  and  go  like  ships  passing  in  the  night, 
but  each  one  who  came  always  did  some  good  before 
they  went  away. 

It  was  sad  sometimes  to  see  how  tired  the  workers 
used  to  look.  I  suppose  it  was  having  to  take  care 
of  so  many  sick  men,  women  and  children,  because  the 
compound  in  which  I  lived  was  a  hospital  compound, 


76 


CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


and  all  the  summer  long,  which  lasts  about  nine  months 
in  Egypt,  more  than  three  hundred  sick  people  lived 
there,  beside  all  the  people  who  came  every  day  to  see 
the  doctor.  I  happen  to  know  of  one  lady  who  has  to 
see  more  than  four  hundred  sick  children  every  day  in 
the  week  except  Friday,  because  they  are  so  ill.  You 
see,  most  parents  in  Egypt  don't  know  how  to  look 
after  their  children  ;  before  they  have  any  teeth  to  eat 
with,  they  are  given  Indian  corn,  raw  cucumber,  buffalo 
meat,  and  numerous  other  things  besides.  Why  even 
I,  a  dog,  was  only  allowed  bread  and  milk  until  I  was 
quite  grown  up. 

There  is  a  very  bad  principle  acted  upon  in  Egypt, 
that  is  to  give  children  everything  they  cry  for.  You 
see,  very  few  people  in  Egypt  know  anything  about  the 
Book  of  Proverbs,  and  the  wise  sayings  about  the 
training  of  children,  especially  that  one  which  says, 
"  A  child  left  to  himself  bringeth  his  mother  to  shame.' ' 
I  have  just  remembered  I  have  told  you  all  about  myself 
without  having  told  you  my  name.  It  is  Toora,  the 
same  name  as  that  given  to  the  prison  where  all  the 
long-sentence  people  are  kept. 

I  shouldn't  have  chosen  this  name  for  myself,  as  I 
wished  to  forget  all  about  those  bygone  days,  when  my 
old  master  was  so  unhappy,  but  my  mistress  was  very 
decided  in  her  opinion  as  to  what  I  should  be  called — 
hence  my  name  Toora. 

I  have  always  been  very  intimate  with  the  children 
of  Egypt,  so  I  do  hope  I  may  come  in  for  a  share  of 
your  interest  in  them  ;  and  remember  you  may  have 
a  dog  friend  yourself  some  day  who  will  be  very 
faithful  to  you  all  his  life  as  I  was  to  my  mistress. 


BETROTHAL  OF  HEAVENLY  GIFT  77 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  BETROTHAL  OF  "  HEAVENLY  GIFT  " 

It  was  Shemenaseem,1  the  national  feast  of  the  whole 
country.  Multitudes  had  gone  forth  at  the  early 
dawn  to  be  ready  to  greet  the  first  rays  of  the  rising 
sun  as  they  tipped  the  Mokattam  hills. 

It  was  the  day  when  every  one  forgot  there  was 
such  a  thing  as  hard  work  in  the  world. 

Brilliant  festal  garments  were  donned  for  the  first 
time,  and  every  one  seemed  bent  on  making  the  most 
of  the  day.  Shemenaseem  was  the  betrothal  day  of 
Heavenly  Gift. 

Heavenly  Gift  was  a  little  girl  who  lived  with  her 
parents  in  the  Valley  of  Comfort.  She  was  the  only 
child  and  her  mother  called  her  Waheeba  because  be- 
fore she  was  born  she  had  invoked  the  saints  among  the 
prophets  to  send  her  a  child.  Therefore  she  called  her 
Waheeba  or  Heavenly  Gift  (a  boy  of  course  would  have 
been  preferable).  Although  Waheeba's  parents  were 
well  off,  she  never  went  to  school,  and  always  wore  a 
shabbily  patched  garment  lest  the  wicked  spirits  should 
cast  the  evil  eye  on  her  and  send  some  dreadful  calamity. 

Waheeba  was  only  eight  years  old,  and  on  this 
brilliant  Shemenaseem  morning  was  called  in  from  her 
play  to  be  told  she  could  never  again  go  out  into  the 
fields  of  the  Valley  of  Comfort. 

She  must  be  hidden  away  in  her  home,  carefully 
guarded  from  covetous  eyes,  as  her  wedding  day  was 
about  to  be  arranged. 

Even  while  she  was  thinking  over  what  she  had  just 
been  told,  there  appeared  a  messenger's  face  at  the 

1  Smelling  the  breeze. 


78  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


door,  who,  after  presenting  salaams,  proceeded  to  tell 
them  of  the  approach  of  a  number  of  women,  the  chief 
of  whom  were  neighbours  of  Heavenly  Gift's  mother. 

From  time  to  time  they  had  heard  of  the  virtues  of 
Heavenly  Gift,  and  had  on  more  than  one  occasion 
discussed  the  possibility  of  the  two  households  forming 
an  alliance  through  the  marriage  of  a  younger  son  to 
Heavenly  Gift,  and  so  on  Shemenaseem  the  first 
overtures  were  made. 

With  much  ceremony  the  visitors  were  invited  to 
be  seated,  greetings  exchanged,  compliments  paid. 
"  Your  baby  is  the  ugliest  of  children,"  said  the  pro- 
posed bridegroom's  mother. 

"  May  the  beloved  prophet  increase  your  goods  a 
hundredfold,"  replied  the  mother  of  Waheeba,  "  may 
your  life  be  lengthened  and  all  you  undertake  to  do  be 
made  to  prosper." 

During  these  first  preliminaries,  Heavenly  Gift  has 
been  hastened  away  to  hide  the  defects  of  her  shabby 
gallabeea  under  the  brilliance  of  a  bright  blue  silk,  not 
without  some  fear  lest  the  evil  eye  should  be  lurking 
near  to  bring  disaster  upon  the  proceedings. 

She  is  now  ordered  by  her  mother  to  make  some 
coffee — poured  into  tiny  cups  which  she  herself  hands 
round  to  each  one  present.  In  the  meantime  she  is 
being  closely  observed  by  the  inspecting  party,  her 
manner  of  speaking,  her  walk,  and  general  deportment 
are  all  carefully  weighed. 

She  has  also  to  submit  to  a  fair  amount  of  handling  ; 
her  eyes  are  closely  examined,  as  also  her  nose,  ears, 
and  hands. 

Any  lack  of  submission  on  the  part  of  the  future 
bride  at  once  proclaims  her  unsuitable  for  the  bride- 
groom they  have  in  view. 

Heavenly  Gift  proves  a  docile  and  obedient  little 


BETROTHAL  OF  HEAVENLY  GIFT  79 


girl,  and  among  all  the  houses  they  have  visited  in 
search  of  a  bride  for  the  petted  bridegroom  of  sixteen 
summers,  none  can  produce  so  suitable  a  maiden  as 
the* one  they  have  just  seen. 

The  visitors  now  return  to  report  upon  the  virtues 
of  the  bride  elect,  the  choice  is  made  in  her  favour,  and 
the  little  girl's  destiny  is  sealed. 

The  male  relatives  now  meet  to  discuss  the  amount 
they  are  \villing  to  pay  for  the  purchase  of  the  bride. 
The  sum  agreed  upon  is  twenty  English  pounds,  and  a 
day  is  fixed  for  the  writing  of  the  contract.  This  is  done 
in  the  presence  of  a  Mohammedan  sheikh,  and  a  third 
of  the  sum  decided  upon  is  paid  to  the  parents  of 
Heavenly  Gift,  who  from  that  time  becomes  more  or 
less  the  property  of  her  future  husband's  relations, 
although  she  remains  in  her  mother's  house  receiving 
instruction  in  the  art  of  cooking,  baking,  and  washing 
until  the  day  of  her  marriage. 

The  next  thing  to  be  done  is  to  arrange  a  day  for  the 
wedding.  This  being  fixed  the  bride  at  once  becomes 
the  recipient  of  jewels  and  clothing,  which  are  bought 
with  the  purchase  money. 

The  bride's  trousseau  must  include  the  necessary 
cooking  pans,  furniture  for  sleeping  and  reception 
rooms,  and  nothing  takes  the  fancy  of  the  little 
prospective  bride  so  much  as  the  tall  mirror  in  the 
gilt  frame,  which  is  capable  of  making  the  prettiest 
bride  look  a  vision  of  ugliness  as  the  quality  of  the 
glass  is  never  taken  into  account. 

Next  is  fixed  a  day  for  the  transfer  of  the  bride's 
possessions  to  the  house  of  her  husband's  relations. 
A  native  band  is  engaged  and  many  porters  are 
employed  to  carry  upon  their  heads  various  baskets 
containing  the  bride's  trousseau  which  is  exposed 
piece  by  piece  to  the  admiring  crowd. 


80  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


Next  in  procession  follow  the  Egyptian  carts,  drawn 
by  gaily  bedecked  donkeys.  To  each  cart  is  allotted 
one  piece  of  furniture,  in  order  that  no  one  piece  may 
lose  the  opportunity  of  being  admired. 

The  procession  moves  slowly,  until  it  reaches  the 
house  of  the  bridegroom  where  everything  is  deposited. 

The  day  before  the  wedding  a  special  ceremony  is 
conducted  in  the  house  of  the  bride's  parents,  for 
the  decoration  of  the  finger-nails,  palms  of  the 
hands,  and  soles  of  the  bride's  feet  and  those  of  her 
girl  friends. 

The  leaves  of  the  henna  tree  are  dried  and  made 
into  a  fine  powder.  This  powder  when  mixed  forms  a 
green  paste,  which  is  placed  as  already  described  on  the 
palms,  soles,  and  nails,  and  covered  over  until  the  next 
morning,  when  the  parts  are  washed  leaving  them  a 
vivid  orange-pink  for  at  least  twenty  days.  This 
ceremony  is  performed  in  the  midst  of  dancing  women, 
and  ends  with  the  sacrifice  of  a  sheep. 

On  the  following  day  the  bride  is  taken  from  her 
father's  house  by  the  relatives  of  the  bridegroom,  under 
cover  of  a  closed  conveyance  draped  over  with  various 
tinselled  coverings.  The  windows  of  her  carriage  are 
carefully  guarded  by  some  male  relative  lest  anyone 
should  be  tempted  to  take  a  peep  inside. 

Selections  from  Egyptian  airs  are  played  by  the 
band  as  it  moves  aggressively  forward  in  front  of  the 
bridal  carriage,  while  numerous  other  closed  carriages, 
filled  with  dark-robed  women  and  gaily-dressed 
children  follow  in  the  rear. 

Finally,  this  unmusical  band  stops  before  the  bride- 
groom's house,  and  on  the  threshold  a  sheep  is  sacrificed 
in  the  presence  of  the  poor  little  bride,  who  walks  over 
the  body  of  the  animal,  supported  on  either  side  by  her 
husband's  relations,  and  enters  the  house. 


BISHAREEN  GIRL 


BETROTHAL  OF  HEAVENLY  GIFT  81 


Preparations  have  been  going  on  for  the  reception 
of  the  guests.  The  men  are  cordially  invited  into  a 
large  tent  surrounded  by  lanterns,  flags,  and  torches, 
where  feasting  and  rejoicing  go  on  apace,  in  honour 
of  the  bridegroom.  In  the  upper  room  women  are 
dancing,  singing,  and  paying  flowery  tributes  to 
the  bride,  who  sits  alone  in  silence,  without  a  sign 
of  recognition  that  she  is  interested  in  all  that  is 
going  on. 

At  midnight  the  bridegroom's  procession  takes  place. 
He  is  supported  on  either  side  by  two  of  his  friends, 
while  others  go  before. 

You  remember  what  it  says  in  St  Matthew's  Gospel : 
— "  And  at  midnight  there  was  a  cry  made,  Behold, 
the  bridegroom  cometh."  Customs  of  the  East  seldom 
change,  so  if  we  dream  back  two  thousand  years  we 
can  still  imagine  the  same  kind  of  procession. 

A  musical  parade  is  made  around  the  village  and  the 
bridegroom  returns  to  the  house,  where  awaiting  him 
sits  Heavenly  Gift,  who  is  now  to  behold  the  face  of 
her  husband  for  the  first  time. 

Well  for  her  if  her  appearance  finds  favour  in  his  eyes. 
Otherwise  it  may  mean  that,  before  the  dawn  ushers  in 
another  happy  Shemenaseem,  another  bride  will  have 
found  her  way  into  the  home  of  the  little  child  wife, 
who  must  uncomplainingly  give  place  to  her  rival ;  or 
it  may  be  he  will  divorce  her  and  send  her  away  with 
the  fourth  part  of  her  purchase  money,  back  to  the 
home  of  her  parents  ;  and  woe  be  to  that  little  person 
if  for  any  reason  the  doors  of  her  father's  house  are 
closed  against  her. 

The  sun  may  rise  high  in  the  heavens,  making  glad 
the  earth  with  his  warmth  ;  the  pale  blue  flower  of  the 
flax  may  put  on  its  best  robe  and  answer  merrily  to  the 
cool  breeze  passing  down  the  Valley  of  Comfort,  but 

F 


82  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


Heavenly  Gift  will  almost  have  forgotten  that  the 
pure  air  and  sunshine  are  for  her  to  enjoy. 

She  is  probably  growing  old  under  the  burdens  of  her 
married  life,  she  is  one  of  the  thousands  who  enters 
her  home  as  a  bride  and  sees  but  the  sun-dried  brick 
or  four  white-washed  walls  of  her  so  called  home  for 
the  remainder  of  her  life.  Many  are  the  sad  stories 
of  constant  quarrelling,  followed  by  an  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  little  bride  to  run  away  to  her  old  home 
to  escape  from  her  husband's  relations,  he  taking  no 
part  in  sheltering  his  child-wife.  Never  having  seen 
her  before  her  marriage,  he  perhaps  cares  nothing  for 
her.  She  is  his,  just  to  serve  him,  cook  his  food, 
which  she  is  not  even  to  eat  with  him,  wait  in 
attendance  on  his  toilet,  and  she  looks  in  vain  for  a 
smile  in  recognition  of  her  attentions  to  him.  The 
Mohammedan  husband  thinks  it  beneath  his  dignity 
to  speak  to  his  wife,  except  to  give  orders.  As  I 
write  I  have  in  my  mind  two  such  cases  of  unhappy 
child-wives,  one  to  my  right,  and  the  other  to  my  left, 
both  of  whom  I  have  been  talking  with  to-day. 
There  are  many,  many  others  known  to  me. 

Of  course,  there  are  cases  where  the  little  girl-wife 
turns  out  to  be  naughty  and  disobedient.  Here  is  the 
picture  of  a  Bishareen  girl  who  came  to  me  one  day 
asking  me  to  write  a  letter  to  her  husband  to  say  she 
was  always  good.  She  was  a  wild,  spirited  girl,  and 
was  the  cause  of  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

There  is  sometimes  a  rift  in  the  dark  cloud  which 
surrounds  the  lives  of  your  little  Moslem  sisters,  here 
and  there  you  will  find  a  happy  home,  but  the  rift  only 
deepens  the  blackness  of  the  cloud. 

We  want  that  cloud  to  break,  so  that  the  sunshine 
of  God's  presence  may  lighten  the  darkness,  and 
bring  into  view  the  intelligence  and  sweetness  of 


A  VISIT  TO  WONDERLAND 


83 


character  which  is  either  hidden  or  crushed  by  centuries 
of  that  oppression,  the  foundation  stone  of  which  was 
laid  when  the  Prophet  of  Islam  cast  the  veil  over  the 
freedom  of  women  and  girls  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
other  countries  of  the  East. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A  VISIT  TO  WONDERLAND 

"  Pay  up,  please,"  said  a  burly  man  wearing  a  red  fez 
and  kharki  clothes,  bound  from  his  knees  to  his 
ankles  with  dark  blue  puttees. 

"  Oh !  dear,"  said  Margery,  "  I  didn't  know  there 
was  anything  to  pay.  I  don't  remember  Alice  having 
to  pay  anything  before  she  went  into  Wonderland." 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  Alice  in  Wonder- 
land," said  the  kharki  man,  "  I  only  know  that  before 
you  can  come  into  my  wonderland  you  have  to  pay. 
Allow  me  to  draw  your  attention  to  this  notice,  and 
I  have  done  my  duty." 

"  Entrance  to  the  Zoo  one  small  piastre,"  read 
Margery,  who  was  reported  to  be  making  great  progress 
at  school. 

Margery's  nurse,  a  very  wise  person,  had  anticipated 
the  possibility  of  having  to  pay,  and  drew  from  her 
purse  two  small  metal  coins  bearing,  in  a  sort  of  straight 
stroke  and  pot-hook  writing,  these  words,  "  Beaten 
in  Eygpt."  You  remember  in  previous  chapters  what 
we  have  read  about  the  verb  "  To  beat,"  and  all  the 
meanings  emanating  from  it. 

"  What  is  exactly  the  meaning  of  Wonderland, 
nurse  ?  "  said  Margery  as  she  was  shunted  through  the 
pay-gate  to  make  room  for  others  coming  along. 


84  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  nurse,  "  that  the  whole  wide 
world  with  brightness  round  about  it,  is  what  is 
meant  by  Wonderland. 

"  Of  course,  there  are  some  parts  of  the  world  and 
some  people  and  living  creatures  more  wonderful  than 
others.  They  say  that  Egypt  is  one  of  the  most  wonder- 
ful countries  of  the  world.  I  think,  because  the  people 
who  lived  in  it  centuries  ago  were  such  a  remarkable 
people,  who  left  behind  them  such  wonderful  monu- 
ments and  remembrances.  And  it  is  their  wonderful 
history  of  the  past  which  appeals  to  so  many  people, 
who  come  out  to  search  among  the  secrets  of  the  desert, 
bringing  to  light  the  possessions  and  the  bodies  of 
people  of  bygone  days.  And  what  is  most  important 
of  all  is  the  fact  that  all  these  things  which  are  dis- 
covered prove  the  truth  of  God's  Holy  Word. 

"  I  think  sometimes  that  God  had  a  purpose  in  keeping 
the  history  and  works  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  covered 
away  in  the  dark,  because  He  knew  the  day  was  coming 
when  people  would  say  that  different  parts  of  the  Bible 
were  not  true,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  whole  world 
which  has  such  power  to  silence  criticism  and  lift  the 
shadows  of  doubt  from  the  minds  of  those  who  would 
interfere  with  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  the  interpretation 
of  the  marvellous  discoveries  which  are  now  being 
made  throughout  the  lands  of  the  East." 

Nurse  thought  Marjory  was  looking  puzzled,  and 
began  to  realise  that  she  was  talking  beyond  the  limit 
of  her  understanding. 

"  Why  here  we  are  right  in  the  middle  of  a  part  of 
God's  Wonderland,"  said  Margery,  who  had  been  mak- 
ing mental  observations  of  the  occupants  of  different 
curious-looking  cages  while  nurse  had  been  talking  to 
her. 

"  Animal-world  is  really  a  very  wonderful  world," 


A  VISIT  TO  WONDERLAND 


85 


exclaimed  Margery,  who  began  to  besiege  her  nurse 
with  questions. 

"  I  wonder  if  animals  have  an  alphabet  which  they 
are  obliged  to  learn,  and  if  their  musical  scale  is  like 
ours — for  a  scale  they  must  have,"  said  Margery  in 
emphatic  tones.  "You  see  donkeys  bray,  ducks  quack, 
frogs  croak,  snakes  hiss,  cats  mew.  I  remember  reading 
in  one  of  my  story  books  called  W onderland  Wonders 
that  grasshoppers  play  instrumental  music,  their  legs 
are  so  formed  that  when  they  want  to  play  a  tune  they 
use  their  legs  for  bows,  and  wings  for  fiddles,  and,  of 
course,  we  all  know  that  birds  are  the  chief  musicians 
in  the  great  oratorio  of  nature. 

"  My  book  also  tells  of  a  great  traveller  who  would 
never  allow  his  horses  to  be  tied  or  shut  up  in  their 
stalls.  At  the  end  of  the  day's  work,  their  food  was 
placed  for  them  in  loose  boxes  and  the  doors  left  open 
so  that  they  could  go,  after  their  meal,  into  the  yard 
and  talk  to  each  other." 

It  was  nurse's  turn  to  look  puzzled,  as  she  had  never 
thought  of  any  of  these  things  before. 

"  Did  you  see  the  parrot  with  the  lovely  tail,"  said 
Margery,  "  as  we  passed  by  her  cage  ?  I  think  she  must 
imagine  herself  a  queen,  because  she  does  exactly  as 
the  Queen  of  England  does,  when  she  goes  driving  in  her 
carriage.  She  makes  dignified  little  bows  to  all  the 
people  who  come  through  the  gates  into  the  gardens;  she 
really  looked  as  if  she  knew  me."  And  as  Margery  was 
contemplating  making  a  slight  bow  in  return  she  heard 
the  parrot  go  off  into  fits  of  laughter. 

Margery  looked  up  in  astonishment  and  thought  she 
must  be  dreaming,  but  she  heard  the  parrot  still 
chuckling  to  itself,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  it  must 
be  thinking  about  Gerald's  governess,  who  one  day 
took  a  walk  to  the  ostrich  farm,  and  in  her  hat  she  wore 


86  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


a  pretty  ostrich  feather  and  quite  forgetting  this  she 
walked  by  the  cage  of  an  old-fashioned  ostrich,  who 
immediately  recognised  his  own  adornment  in  the  hat 
of  the  governess  and  promptly  tore  it  away,  running 
off  with  it  as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him,  and  it  was 
with  a  very  unfashionable-looking  hat  that  the  poor 
governess  returned  from  her  trip  to  the  ostrich  farm. 

"Do  stop,  nurse,  and  look  at  the  funny-looking 
creature  in  this  cage.  It  is  called  a  secretary  bird  and 
looks  exactly  like  a  little  girl  wrho,  on  rising  in  the 
morning,  has  forgotten  to  comb  her  hair.  How  she 
paces  up  and  down  her  cage,  looking  too  dissatisfied 
and  cross  for  anything,  so  unlike  those  sweet  little  pin- 
tailed  widow  birds  who  are  pouring  forth  their  musical 
notes  in  answer  to  the  call  of  the  Madagascar  weaver 
birds  in  the  next  cage." 

"  I  wonder,"  said  Margery,  "  what  those  three  water- 
buck,  whose  real  home  is  far  away  up  the  Sobat  river, 
are  talking  about.  There  they  sit  with  their  three  heads 
together,  the  sun  shining  down  on  the  different  shades 
of  their  brown  coats  ;  I  expect  they  are  still  discussing 
all  those  children  who  came  into  the  garden  yesterday, 
among  them  being  three  boys  who  had  taken  the 
primary  certificate,  of  which  they  were  very  proud." 

"  It's  quite  wonderful,"  the  eldest  waterbuck  was 
saying,  "  to  see  what  a  difference  there  is  between 
children  who  go  to  school  and  those  who  do  not." 

Then  there  followed  a  running  conversation  between 
all  three,  about  the  various  requests  made  by  the 
parents  who  send  their  children  to  school.  Here  are 
some  of  the  instructions  to  the  head  mistress  of  the 
Girls'  School : — "  Take  care  of  her  and  love  her  more 
than  all  the  others."  What  an  unwise  teacher  she 
would  be,  who  would  do  such  a  thing,  because,  of 
course,  that  would  cause  jealousy. 


A  VISIT  TO  WONDERLAND  87 


"  I  don't  care,"  said  another  mother,  "  whether  she 
learns  to  read  or  not,  only  teach  her  manners,  so  that  I 
shall  have  no  difficulty  in  marrying  her." 

"  Teach  my  child  not  to  curse  her  grandmother,  and 
to  kiss  all  her  elders'  hands,  when  she  comes  home  from 
school,"  said  a  dark  skinned  woman  who  gazed  in 
astonishment  at  the  order  of  things  in  the  school.  A 
long  list  of  sins  was  then  recounted  over  the  head  of 
another  little  girl,  for  which  she  was  to  be  beaten, 
though  she  was  quite  meek  and  harmless  at  school. 

"  How  ridiculous,"  said  the  smallest  waterbuck  ;  "I 
heard  a  mother  grumble  about  her  little  girl  who  had 
been  in  school  three  months  and  couldn't  even  read  an 
Arabic  newspaper !  " 

"  These  are  the  daughters  of  my  grandmother's 
uncle,"  said  a  closely-veiled  lady — "  teach  them  to  cut 
out  clothes." 

"  No  arithmetic  ?  "  said  the  fond  teacher. 

"  Why  should  they  learn  arithmetic,  are  they  going  to 
be  Government  servants  ?  "  was  the  indignant  reply  ! 

"  A  little  English  then,"  said  the  aggressive  mistress. 

"  English,"  said  the  irate  relative.  "  Are  they  going 
to  marry  Englishmen  ?  I  want  you  to  teach  them  to 
read  handwriting — don't  waste  time  teaching  them  A, 
B,  C,  or  Alif,  Ba,  Tha."  "  WeU,  well,"  said  the  long- 
suffering  mistress,  "  we  wall  do  what  we  can  !  " 

Children  when  first  brought  to  school  often  have 
the  vulgar  habit  of  saying  '  Ah '  for  '  Yes,'  and  a 
cluck  for  '  No,'  so  their  education  often  has  to  begin 
with  Yes,  and  No."  Children  in  Egypt  do  not  know 
their  ages,  and  the  parents  are  quite  as  vague  about 
them.  Sometimes  a  birth  certificate  is  produced  for 
visitors  to  read.  Sometimes  a  calculation  can  be 
made.  "  The  boy  was  bom  the  year  of  the  cholera, 
and  the  girl  is  over  his  head,"  i.e.,  next  youngest. 


88  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


One  day  a-  little  girl  was  taken  on  a  pilgrimage 
with  her  mother,  and  on  the  journey,  when  water 
was  scarce,  would  often  sing  "  Little  drops  of  Water," 
as  they  jogged  along  on  the  camel.  Little  girls  always 
wear  their  hair  in  a  pigtail,  and  as  soon  as  a  few  hairs 
will  meet  at  the  back  they  help  it  out  with  wool,  and 
make  a  plait ;  sometimes  they  help  to  keep  it  tidy  by 
making  a  little  plait  over  each  ear,  which  goes  by  the 
name  of  the  "  tramway."  These  meet  a  small  central 
plait  called  the  "  Omnibus,"  and  all  unite  in  the  main 
pigtail.  The  waterbuck  were  all  agreed  that  the 
children  who  went  to  school  were  very  happy. 

At  the  breaking  up  of  a  day  school  for  two  months 
summer  holidays,  a  number  of  children  were  found 
crying  (fancy  crying  at  going  home  for  a  holiday) ,  and 
looking  most  dejected.  Among  the  weepers  was  a 
Moslem  girl  of  twelve  years,  who  had  never  missed 
a  day  all  the  year,  and  was  top  of  the  first  class. 
She  hugged  the  Bible  and  hymn-book  she  had  won 
as  prizes,  which  she  herself  had  chosen. 

"  This  is  an  interesting  place,"  said  Margery,  "  and 
how  I  should  love  to  go  into  that  large  building  where 
Daddy  says  all  the  signs  and  wonders  of  the  land  of 
Egypt  are  kept. 

M  In  my  nursery  cupboard  I  have  a  tiny  piece  of 
mummy  cloth,  which  was  taken  from  the  body  of 
Pharaoh,  who  was  so  cruel  to  the  Children  of  Israel. 
They  say  it  is  the  very  man — have  you  seen  him, 
nurse  ? — he  looks  so  dried  up  and  solemn.  There 
he  lies,  with  the  kings  of  his  era,  all  in  their  sealed 
glass  cases." 

Nurse  looked  at  her  watch,  and  thought  they  might 
go  in  for  a  little  while  ;  so  Baby  Blue- eyes,  as  she  was 
sometimes  called,  was  lifted  out  of  her  carriage  and  in 
they  all  three  went. 


A  VISIT  TO  WONDERLAND  89 


"  Oh  !  how  wonderful.  Are  those  real  people  sitting 
over  there  ?  "  said  Margery,  looking  across  from  the 
door. 

"  You  would  almost  think  so,"  said  nurse  ;  "  they 
are  stone  images  of  a  king  and  queen  who  lived 
thousands  and  thousands  of  years  ago." 

"  I  think  I  feel  a  little  frightened,"  said  Margery.  "  I 
feel  as  if  all  these  people  sitting  around  the  room  were 
coming  to  speak  to  me.  It  seems  such  a  wonderful 
piece  of  Wonderland,  really  too  wonderful  for  me  to 
understand."  And  baby,  who  always  tried  to 
imitate  Margery,  reiterated  her  lemark  and  said 
"  too  'onderfu'." 

"  Just  let  us  take  a  peep  into  the  jewel  room,"  said 
Margery,  "  before  we  go."  And  there  they  gazed  upon 
some  of  the  most  ancient  and  costly  jewels  in  the  world, 
all  dug  up  from  the  graves  of  dead  people,  who  had  taken 
with  them  these  ornaments  for  the  future  life.  How 
beautiful  must  have  been  the  gold  of  Egypt  in  those 
days.  The  discovery  of  the  royal  tombs  is  an  old 
story  now,  but  for  many  years  bands  of  robbers  used 
to  open  the  tombs  and  carry  off  the  coffins  containing 
the  mummies  to  Cairo.  The  Arabs  tell  how  they  were 
obliged  to  go  armed  in  secret,  and  how  they  stole  up 
rugged  mountain  paths,  and  crept  down  into  dark 
musty  caves.  When  once  in  possession  of  their  mighty 
burdens,  they  would  steal  softly  down  the  mountain 
side,  and  stumble  under  their  weight  to  the  river 
side,  where  rafts  were  waiting  to  float  them  down  the 
Nile. 

Those  strange  boats,  the  wood  of  which  is  crumb- 
ling away,  were  once  the  funeral  barks  of  a  king  who, 
when  he  died,  was  taken  in  one  of  them  from  one  side 
of  the  river  to  the  other.  The  other  boat  was  probably 
for  his  Ka,  or  double,  who  would  accompany  him 


90  CHILDREN  OP  EGYPT 


wherever  he  went  after  death.  Look  at  the  two 
little  hawk-headed  gods  sitting  on  two  poles,  those 
were  to  take  care  of  them  on  their  unknown  journey. 

The  lights  were  twinkling  by  the  river  side,  and  nurse 
knew  it  was  time  to  be  getting  home. 

"  I  like  going  home  when  the  road  is  lighted,"  said 
Margery,  "  it  all  looks  so  mysterious."  And  every- 
thing to  Margery  and  her  baby  sister  that  night  became 
a  mystery  in  the  land  of  sleepy  dreams. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

NOTES  BY  THE  WAY 

Life  on  a  house-boat  is  a  pleasant  experience,  so  long 
as  we  have  not  to  wage  war  with  robbers,  flies  or 
dust-storms.  The  boat  lies  moored  to  the  canal  bank, 
and  is  surrounded  by  a  bewildering  sea  of  human  life  ; 
animal  life  also  forms  an  interesting  addition  to  the 
busy  scene.  This  boat  is  the  missionary  doctor's 
home. 

It  is  early  morning  and  we  are  sitting  at  breakfast.  I 
rather  imagine  that  boys  and  girls  and  grown-up  people 
are  still  in  the  land  of  dreams  in  England.  Our  doors 
are  open  ;  we  gaze  to  the  right,  and  behold  the  timid 
gamoos  or  buffalo,  the  stately  camel,  the  proverbial 
donkey,  all  being  led  forth,  sometimes  by  a  woman, 
sometimes  by  a  man,  and  very  often  by  little  chil- 
dren, to  the  labours  of  the  day. 

We  look  to  the  left,  and  behold  the  follower  of  Islam's 
prophet  is  at  prayer  on  nature's  carpet,  with  the  blind- 
folded cow  patiently  turning  the  water-wheel,  which  is 
to  satisfy  the  thirsty  earth,  in  the  background. 


LITTLE  BOATS  WITH   STATELY  SAILS 


NOTES  BY  THE  WAY  91 


We  gaze  before  us  and  see  the  elegant  little  boats, 
with  stately  sails,  taking  the  bend  of  the  river  and  com- 
ing majestically  towards  us ;  they  trouble  the  water 
as  they  pass  by,  rocking  our  boat  a  little,  and 
then  pass  on  out  of  sight,  with  their  burden  of  wheat  or 
some  other  grain  which  they  are  carrying  to  far- 
off  destinations. 

Many  of  the  animals  we  have  seen  leaving  their  rest- 
ing places  are  now  safely  embarked  in  the  chain  ferry- 
boat, and  are  being  conducted  across  to  the  other  side 
to  various  fields  of  labour. 

Breakfast  over,  we  close  our  doors  and  commit 
ourselves  and  our  work  into  the  hand  of  God  our 
Father. 

The  doctor  has  gone  to  his  dispensary,  in  a  village 
of  some  eight  thousand  people.  The  missionary's  wife 
is  trying  to  teach  a  village  boy  how  to  cook.  I  know  a 
missionary  who  had  a  cook,  who,  when  told  to  make  a 
rolly-polly  pudding,  wouldn't  bring  it  to  the  table,  and 
when  asked  what  his  objection  was,  said,  he  had  never 
before  seen  a  pudding  in  a  gallabeea  and  wasn't  sure 
if  it  was  quite  the  proper  thing  to  undress  it  before 
bringing  it  to  table. 

I  go  and  sit  under  the  shade  of  the  lebekh  tree,  to 
teach  a  number  of  women  and  girls  who  have  gathered 
together,  and  they  are  soon  interested  in  the  story  of 
the  brazen  serpent.  After  listening  for  some  time 
they  become  anxious  to  get  on  to  their  daily  work  in  the 
fields,  for  they  are  peasants,  but  still  they  linger,  ex- 
claiming, "  Oh  !  if  we  could  but  listen  all  day  to  such 
words,  they  would  make  our  hearts  glad." 

The  children  in  this  village  are  like  wild  little 
animals,  so  we  promise  them  a  Sunday  school  all  to 
themselves  on  the  following  Sunday,  if  only  they  will 
relieve  us  of  their  unwelcome  noise  while  we  are  talking 


92  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


to  their  mothers.  We  are  overwhelmed  by  the  picture 
of  these  hundreds  of  neglected  little  children  of  Egypt. 

We  went  to-day  to  call  on  the  magistrate's  wife. 
What  a  mixture  of  majesty  and  stately  untidiness. 
There  is  the  first  announcement  that  Englize  1  have 
arrived,  and  instead  of  the  neatly-dressed  servant  to 
open  the  door,  a  crowd  of  nice-looking  but  dirty,  un- 
ruly little  boys  and  girls  all  crowd  around  one,  each 
wanting  to  get  the  best  view  of  the  strange  visitor. 
Several  women  with  stately  mien  and  flowing  robes, 
with  long  plaits  of  silk  rope  suspended  from  their  hair, 
carry  their  tiny  babies  over  the  shoulder — each  child 
gnawing  at  a  piece  of  sugar  cane. 

We  have  reached  the  entrance  hall  which  is  filled 
with  animals ;  the  floor  is  of  earth,  and  in  a  far 
corner  sits  a  woman  before  a  large  cooking  pot  con- 
taining the  evening  meal  for  many  members  of  the 
family,  who  will  all  presently  be  dipping  into  the  same 
dish. 

We  are  now  conducted  over  some  dried  sugar  cane 
husks  and  invited  into  the  upper  room.  We  are  met 
on  the  threshold  by  the  all  powerful  mother-in-law, 
and  conducted  to  a  seat  on  the  divan. 

"  Ahlan  wa  sahlan," 

"  Welcome,  thrice  welcome." 

"  Ezzey  koom  ?  Salaamat." 
"  How  are  you  ?  Peace." 

"  Beitna  munowwir  bikoom." 

"  Our  home  is  enlightened  by  your  presence." 

"  Allah  yinawwir  'aleykum." 
"  God  send  you  light."  etc. 


1  English. 


NOTES  BY  THE  WAY 


93 


A  description  of  the  upper  room  is  of  interest.  This 
floor  is  also  made  of  mother  earth,  but  a  carpet  of 
brilliant  colour,  and  colossal  pattern  covers  it.  The 
walls  are  ignorant  of  the  white-wash  brush,  and  the 
rafters  are  a  refuge  for  bats. 

Slung  from  one  side  of  the  room  to  the  other  is  what 
we  should  call  an  apology  for  a  clothes  line,  over  which 
are  thrown  garments  of  various  descriptions.  The 
half-naked  children  are  by  this  time  climbing  over  the 
divan  upon  which  we  are  seated.  Some  are  making  an 
examination  of  our  clothes,  while  others  give  a  sharp 
tug  at  a  hairpin  expecting  to  see  our  hair  drop  off ! 
Your  hair,  if  you  have  any,  is  a  very  particular 
attraction. 

Refreshments  are  brought,  in  the  shape  of  tiny 
cups  of  coffee,  and  oranges  gathered  from  the 
orange  grove  close  by.  Alas !  we  did  not  hasten 
to  tear  the  peel  from  our  orange  with  our  own 
teeth,  so  it  is  done  for  us,  and  the  peel  thrown  on 
to  the  gorgeous  carpet,  at  which  toothless  granny 
exclaims,  scolds,  and  denounces  the  culprit,  all 
in  one  breath.  The  colour  of  our  orange  has  suffered 
considerably,  prints  of  unwashed  fingers  being  all 
too  visible. 

The  time  has  come  when  they  seem  fairly  satisfied, 
when  a  sensation  is  caused  by  the  appearance  of  the 
daughter-in-law,  who  during  preliminaries  has  retired 
to  robe. 

She  walks  majestically  into  the  room  clothed  in  a  pale 
pink  silk  which  is  covered  with  delicate  satin  spots. 
We  admire,  and  say  many  things  to  compliment  her 
upon  her  good  taste,  whereupon  she  sails  across  to  the 
other  side  of  the  room,  opens  her  bride's  box,  and 
produces  with  much  ceremony  several  gorgeously- 
colo  ured  gallabeeas,  all  more  or  less  handsome.  These 


94  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


have  each  to  be  remarked  upon,  and  a  sigh  of  regret 
escapes  the  hps  of  others  less  favoured. 

It  seems  so  strange  to  these  people,  that  our  only 
motive  in  visiting  them  should  be  to  tell  them  about 
God,  and  their  need  of  a  Saviour.  Sometimes  one 
will  exclaim,  "  Oh  !  Coverer  "  (one  of  their  names  for 
God)  "  who  are  these  strangers  ?  Are  they  Adam's 
descendants  ?  "  Another  will  make  answer,  "  Of 
course  they  are.  Have  they  not  ten  fingers,  two 
feet,  eyes  and  nose  just  as  we  have  ?  " 

We  mount  our  donkeys  and  return  to  our  home  on 
the  river,  and  our  thoughts  go  out  to  a  thirsty  land  as 
we  pass  by  the  groaning  water-wheel,  and  watch  the 
men  throwing  up  the  buckets  of  water  from  the  re- 
freshing stream,  relieving  the  dry,  parched  earth  which 
in  time  will  bring  forth  the  pink  and  yellow  water- 
melons the  Egyptians  so  long  for.  As  I  write,  thick 
darkness  has  gathered  around  us,  all  is  silent  except 
for  the  distant  bark  of  the  watch-dog,  and  the  wail  of 
some  wild  bird's  cry. 

Suddenly  there  is  a  stir,  a  pattering  of  shoeless  feet, 
weird  music,  and  torch-lights.  It  is  the  sign  of  the 
approach  of  a  bridegroom  as  he  is  being  escorted  to 
his  waiting  bride  with  true  native  joy. 

When  the  promised  Sunday  school  was  attempted, 
although  there  were  literally  hundreds  of  children,  only 
sixteen  were  registered.  Many  others  came,  but  when  I 
suggested  that  we  should  close  the  doors,  a  general 
stampede  was  the  result,  fear  took  possession  of  them 
at  the  thought  of  being  shut  up  with  so  extraordinary 
a  stranger.  These  sixteen  were  each  given  a  card  with 
the  words  "  Honour  thy  Father  and  thy  Mother  " 
printed  upon  it. 

The  next  Sunday  they  were  more  courageous,  for 
one  hundred  children  presented  themselves,  as  also  on 


NOTES  BY  THE  WAY  95 


the  following  Sundays,  and  we  had  the  great  joy,  before 
leaving  that  district,  of  having  several  sturdy  little 
fellows  coming  to  us  and  making  a  voluntary  promise 
that  they  were  never  going  to  swear  any  more  ! 

Another  morning  was  spent  in  teaching  a  young 
blind  girl  to  learn  a  hymn,  and  then  sing  it  to  a  native 
tune.  I  went  the  next  day  to  find  she  had  remembered 
it  all,  and  this  is  the  sort  of  talk  we  had  with  one 
another. 

I  told  her  the  story  of  Jesus  who  opened  the  eyes  of 
the  blind,  and  who  was  waiting  to  give  her  light  in  her 
heart ;  she  doubted  the  truth  of  my  story  and  told 
me  she  had  been  taught  to  believe  otherwise.  She 
asked  me  to  lengthen  my  patience  while  she  told  me 
her  own  thoughts,  which  were  as  follows  : — 

"  When  I  die,"  said  the  poor  blind  girl,  "  I  shall  be 
visited  by  two  angels,  the  chief  of  whom  will  make  an 
examination  of  my  deeds,  and  remind  me  of  everything 
I  have  done,  and  left  undone ;  he  will  then  cut  off  a 
piece  of  my  shroud  and  record  upon  it  my  good  and 
bad  deeds,  and  attach  it  firmly  to  my  neck  with  a 
piece  of  rope. 

"  If  my  good  deeds  outweigh  my  bad  ones  I  shall  go 
straight  into  heaven.  If  my  bad  deeds  outweigh  my 
good  ones  my  intercessor  Mohammed  will  easily  get 
permission  for  me  to  enter  heaven,  so  it  does  not  much 
matter  how  I  live." 

Poor  blind  girl,  she  does  not  know  how  much  she 
needs  the  Light  of  the  World.  Day  dawns  once  again, 
and  like  the  Sower  v/e  go  forth  to  sow.  Some  falls 
by  the  wayside,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air  devour  it. 
Some  has  fallen  among  stones  and  thorns,  and  been 
choked.  Some  has  fallen  into  good  ground,  to  bring 
forth  fruit  unto  life  eternal. 

Evening  shadows  are  drawing  on ;  busy  tillers  of 


96 


CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT 


the  soil  are  returning  home  to  their  rest ;  little  boys 
and  girls  with  weary  feet  and  tired  faces  lead  safely 
home  the  no  less  weary  animals  ;  while  others  have 
been  taught  about  the  King  of  Kings,  and  mothers' 
hearts  have  been  cheered  and  comforted.  The  seed 
sown  sleeps  in  secret,  and  we  pray  to  the  Great  Giver 
of  the  water  of  life  to  refresh  it  with  His  life-giving 
power,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  may  see  of  the  travail  of 
His  soul  and  be  satisfied.  This  chapter  is  only  a 
series  of  notes  by  the  wayside,  just  to  give  you  a 
glimpse  of  how  the  seed  is  sown  among  big  as  well  as 
little  people,  and  how  it  sleeps  in  the  ground ;  but 
some  day  you  will  hear  of  it  all  springing  up  into 
glorious  life,  and  the  Angel  Reapers  will  descend  to 
gather  in  the  harvest  so  long  waited  for. 
Will  you  have  a  share  in  the  reaping  ? 


Date  Due 



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